A long lost love
by LisaAbiona15
Summary: Thousands of years ago, Lamia was one of the unfortunate women to fall in love with Zeus, a greek god. In her universum, Zeus doesn't exist anymore. But in the universum of Percy Jackson , he does. Lamia, together with Tom, is transported to the Percy Jackson universum and meets with Zeus and Hera. How will they all react? ( Some changes to the original plot by Joseph Delaney)
1. Confusion

**All right. I love the wardstone chronicles ( don't really like the ending, but the general dea is awesome). My favorite character is Lamia, Tom's mother, and I really think Joseph Delaney should have kept her alive. Well, when she told Tom who she was, I was really suprised. And immediately got ideas for some stories. I also love Percy Jackson& the Olympians ( I'm just into greek mythology) so I got the idea; what if Lamia was sent into the Percy Jackson universe? What if she appeared in camp half-blood and eventually found out Zeus still existed in that universum? What would she say to him and Hera, the bitch who killed her children? Oh, and in this book she somehow survived the Ordeen ( I might sent Tom with her, so I want him to already know who she is). Don't own either Percy Jackson & the Olympians or the Wardstone Chronicles. I wished I did. I would have kept Lamia alive and totally changed the last book. Ok, after this very long and boring disclaimer; enjoy!**

Lamia sighed. She was at the farm, in her old chair. Her son Jack was with the pigs, feeding them. After that, there would be a lot more to do, so he wouldn't be inside for a long time. Her daugther in law, Ellie, was upstairs with her child, the little Mary. Her other son James, the blacksmith, was in his forge. She was all alone, in the kitchen.

Lamia sighed again. Her thoughts were with her youngest son, Tom. She loved him so much, more than all her other children. Not that she didn't love her other children, but Tom hold a special place in her heart. He was the seventh son of a seventh son and worked as a spook. He had lived up to all her expectations. He was brave, kind, loyal, clever.. She was proud of him. He somehow managed to fill the hole in her heart which had been there even since the goddess Hera killed her children. She remembered how much she had loved her children. And their father, Zeus.

She had been queen at that time. Lamia remembered when she had caught Zeus' eye. She hadn't known who he was at the time. And when she found out, she was already pregnant.

She remembered how she had met Zeus. She had left her palace for a walk when it suddenly started to rain. It had quickly changed into a real storm, with a lot of ligthning. Lamia had been forced to take shelter. She had run away, trying to avoid all trees until she saw an house. It was a mansion, all made of marble. Desperate at this moment, she had knocked at the door and cowered a little when the lightning struck in a tree not far from here. At the time the door had finally opened, she had been soaking wet. She could have used magic to keep herself dry, but she didn't want anyone to be suspicious. Most people didn't like enchantresses. It would be easier if they thought she was just a woman caught by the storm.

The man who had opened the door, hadn't been a bit kind and full of sympathy. He had brought her to a room and offered her something to drink. And sent a maid to help her. Lamia could remember that room like it was yesterday, even when it was millenia ago. She closed her eyes, going back to that time. The time that had changed her life forever.

{ Flashback} ( I do not speak Greek, so imagine it is in Greek and old-fashioned. I wasn't born two thousand years ago, so I have no idea how they talked back then).

Lamia sighed, relieved to be inside. She was shivering and soaking wet. She quickly undressed and walked towards the bath the maid had prepared for her. She stepped into the bathtub, enjoying the warmth. Lamia relaxed and closed her eyes, enjoying the warm water.

When Lamia was warm and comfortable again, she got out of bath. She walked, wrapped in a towel, toward the clothes the maiden had left for her. When Lamia had put her new clothes on, she looked in the mirror. She now wore a long, flowing dress. It was black, like her hair, and looked really expensive._ Strange_. Lamia thought._ It fits me perfectly and it's in my favorite color. It's almost like they knew I would come_.

Lamia hesitated; she had the feeling something was wrong. She didn't know why, but she felt trapped. Lamia thought about it. _A storm suddenly starts and I ran into this house, which I have never seen before_. She frowned; maybe it was just a coincidence, but it was almost like someone wanted to meet here. And if that was true, she could be in danger.

Lamia's thoughts were interrupted when she heard a voice. " You're even more beautiful than the said". Startled, Lamia turned to face the person who had spoken. When she looked at him, her heart stopped beating for a second. It was a really handsome man, tall and dressed like a king.

She swallowed nervously and took in his features. He had black hair with blue eyes. Beautiful blue eyes, reminding her of the sky. He was very muscular, but thin. And he wore some sort of armor, made of gold. He also wore something that reminded her of a crown, with an eagle on it.

He smiled at her and she felt her heart beat faster. "Everything all right? I heard you were caught by the storm" he said while walking towards her. Lamia nodded. "Yes, I'm fine. Thank you for offering m a place to stay. Who are you, if I may ask"? The man smiled. " I'm the owner of this place. You can call me Jupiter. And what may I call you"? Lamia swallowed, with difficulty. " Lamia, if you wish Jupiter" she said with a smile, even when she suddenly found it hard to breathe.

Jupiter smiled, his eyes sparkling. She truly found his eyes fascinating. They seemed to change color, she could have sworn they were dark blue a second ago. And now they were light blue again, like the sky. Jupiter suddenly took her hand and placed a soft kiss on it, making her throat dry and her breathing go faster. He smiled at her again, with those beautiful eyes. " Lamia.. A beautiful name for a really beautiful lady". Lamia smiled. " That's so kind of you, thank you".

Jupiter let go her hand and straightened. He shrugged. " Why thank me when I'm only telling the truth? You are truly beautiful". Lamia blushed. She felt a little sad now he wasn't holding her hand anymore. That kiss had felt really good. _I wonder how it feels if he kisses me somewhere else. Like my mouth. Or even lower_ Lamia thought, imagining the pleasure she would feel. _It would be amazing. If a kiss on my hand can feel that good, it would feel even better if he- No! What am I thinking? _Lamia was shocked; those things were really inappropriate. It wasn't like her at all to think about such things. Especially not when the man she was thinking about, was practically a stranger! _What is happening to me? Why am I thinking such things? Who is that stranger? _Lamia was curious; she had never felt things like this before.

No man had ever appealed to her like this. She was curious who the man was that he could make her feel like this in a few minutes. A voice in the back of her mind kept screaming to run, now it was still possible, but every reason left her when she looked in Jupiter's eyes. She had planned to leave as soon as possible, but she decided she wanted to know more.

Jupiter smiled at her again and she saw he looked at her. He looked at her eyes, her nose, her neck and lower.. His gaze was fixed on her breasts for a moment before his gaze went up again. Now, his eyes were fixed on her mouth. Lamia swallowed nervously, her throat and lips dry. She wanted to say something, ask him why he looked at her like that, but no words left her lips. It was almost like she was hypnotized, enchanted by this handsome stranger. " Why are you ogling me like that"? she blurted, getting more and more nervous.

She didn't know what was going on, but all her instincts screamed this man was dangerous. Not that she thought he was a murderer or something, she certainly didn't. But he had something about him that made her dizzy and confused. Something that made her forget her good manners and maybe even her dignity. Jupiter smiled, a very charming smile. Lamia felt that weird sensation again, like she was hypnotized. For a moment, her head was empty. All she could think was _kiss me._ When she realized, she actually took a step forward, she almost jumped back. Jupiter laughed and raised his hands. " Calm down. You don't have to be afraid, I promise I do not intend to hurt you".

" I'm not afraid" Lamia mumbled. It was true; she wasn't afraid. More confused. And tempted. And that was her problem. She didn't like the idea that she would be easy. She was smart, she knew that. And she didn't like the idea of some man having so much power over her. Slowly, her confusion subsided and she opened her mouth to tell him she had to go. " I'm not afraid. And I need to go now. Nice meeting you" she said, trying to walk away.

Jupiter stopped her, his hands on her shoulders. He was really close now; their hips almost touching. Lamia fought the lust that threatened to overwhelm her. Something about this man made every reason leave her mind, leaving a burning urge to do something dark and forbidden. Lamia was shocked by her feelings and thoughts. They were inappropriate and wrong.

She took a deep breath, trying to calm herself. She saw Jupiter's eyes immediately went to her breasts, which were so close to his chest. Lamia didn't like that; he was staring at her breasts! That was even more inappropriate than her strange thoughts. She gasped, feeling insulted and mad. His gaze immediately left her breasts to be focused on her eyes again. Which wasn't better. It was even worse, for those eyes made her feel it again. The attraction. And the urge to do something obtuse. Like kissing him.

For a moment, Lamia forget everything around her. She felt her skin starting to tingle and a weird sensation between her legs. Lamia inhaled his scent, which made her stop thinking entirely. She looked into his eyes, licking her lips nervously. She saw his lips coming closer, those perfect lips. But she knew she had to stop him. With the last bit of her common sense, she pulled away from him. She raised her hands in a defensive posture. " Stop! What are you doing"? she asked, a little breathless and still very confused. Jupiter just smiled and shook his head. " I was trying to stop you. Unless you want to get wet again, of course".

Lamia frowned. " The rain has stopped, I have seen that with my own eyes". Jupiter smiled. " The rain _had_ stopped. Now, it's raining again. We don't want you to get soaked again, do we"? Lamia could swear she heard him mutter, not because of rain, at least. She raised her eyebrows at him. " What did you just say? What do you mean, you don't want me to be wet because of the rain"?. Jupiter smiled and took a step closer. " There are other ways to become wet , you know. Like swimming".

Lamia stared at him, she didn't have the idea he meant swimming. He took another step towards her, his gaze seemed to be focused on her hips this time.

Lamia licked her lips again, feeling anxious. She took a step back. " All right. It seems we have to find a way to enjoy ourselves. Any ideas"? she asked, trying to sound casual instead of confused, nervous and excited. Jupiter smiled, stil ogling her hips. " Oh, yes I do. A very good idea, if I might say". He took a step forward. Lamia smiled nervously. " Really? What is it. Is it- Mmmm"! her nervous rattling interrupted when Jupiter kissed her.

Lamia didn't know what was happening to her. This kiss was amazing. It was was wild and passionate. She felt a lot of feelings going through her, and felt she was warm and wet. Before she could think about it , she kissed him back. He pulled her backwards without interrupting their kiss, until she fell on something. The bed, Lamia realized. Before she could do or say anything, he ripped her dress apart. He smiled and bowed forward. " Just like I said. Beautiful..." he whispered.

Lamia opened her eyes again, the images from the past disappearing. She was still a little ashamed of what had happened. She had ended in his bed not even an hour after they had met. She remembered how wonderful it had been. How they had made love, like she took it, for hours. Afterwards, she had been in his arms, talking. It had been one of the most wonderful night of her life.

They had had more nights together, all perfect. He had been her lover and she had fallen in love with him. And he had said he loved her. _Said it. But never proven it. If he had loved me, he would have saved our children _Lamia thought, the betrayal still fresh. She had truly believed in their love. And had been happy when she discovered she was pregnant. And he had been too. _How could he let them die? Our children, our flesh and blood _Lamia asked herself again. It was that question that still bothered her. How could he? Let their children die. And not even help her when she was driven mad by the loss. _Did he ever love me? Or was it just a lie? _Lamia wondered again.

She still didn't know the answer, after all those years. It had been centuries ago and Zeus was already gone, while she was still alive. The pain wasn't that bad anymore. Her sons, her beautiful seven sons, had helpen fill the hole in her heart. And John had helped. Lamia smiled when she thought about him. She had never expected to fall in love with him, a mere mortal. _But a mortal with courage, intelligence and love _Lamia thought. She had loved him so much and was devastated when he died.

_But at least I still have Tom _Lamia thought, thinking of her youngest and favorite son. If she was honest, she loved him more than his brothers. Not that she didn't love his brothers; he was just special. Like his father.

Lamia smiled again, remembering the time Tom and his brothers had been little and their father alive._ Such happy times. I never thought I would experience those again _Lamia thought.

She sighed and got up. She had been sitting in her chair for hours and it was time to make dinner. Lamia sang a song while she was cooking.

Her sons James and Jack came in, together with Ellie and Mary when she was done. She turned around and smiled when she heard them come in. Ellie was holding Mary, who was sleeping. Lamia smiled when she saw that. James was looking at the table, almost drooling at the sight. Lamia sent him a warning look not to start without the rest. And Jack.. Jack was , weird enough, smiling really broadly. " What is making you so happy, Jack? I haven't seen you smile for a while. Not like that, at least". Jack laughed. " Well, neither have I seen you smile. At all. So I brought a guest, hoping to lighten your mood" he said.

Lamia knew that was true; lately she had been silent, lost in thoughts. After Greece, where she almost died destroying the Ordeen, her past was bothering her. She had told Tom, who had been shocked of course, what she was. She would never forget the hurt, pain and betrayal in her son's eyes. She hated the idea of hurting him, but had decided he had to know the truth. She had expected to die soon, making it even more urgent. But to her astonishment, she hadn't died. She had survived _and_ destroyed the Ordeen. She had even been able to return to what she had called home for a very long time, to be with two of her sons for some time.

She had a lot of explaining to do when she came back, most of it concerning her new appearence. She had been forced to change her form to fight the Ordeen and when she had changed back, she had been young again. Tom even didn't recognize her for a minute when she had ran towards him and pulled him in an hug.

He had looked at her like she was crazy and she had to tell him she was his mother. Tom had been staring at her for a long time, until the point it actually got uncomfortable. When he realized it was really her, they had talked. Lamia had explained everything. How she had been an echantress, like the spook's bestiary said, and had fallen in love with Zeus only to be left alone when she needed him. She had never seen Tom that mad; he had literally screamed when she told him and explained if he would ever meet Zeus, he would kill him for being so evil and causing so much misery.

They had had a lot of time to talk during their ride home and it had solved a lot. She didn't need to keep secrets from Tom anymore. The only problem was, she couldn't tell her other children. So she had used some magic, even when she hated herself for doing so, on them. The spell made sure they didn't find it suspicious she was, well actually looked, so young. And it had worked well, the past months she had been home.

She smiled at Jack, who was looking at her and expected an answer. " A guest? Really? Well, I hope I've made enough for our guest". Jack laughed. " I believe you did. And I just know you will like our unexpected guest". He stepped aside, revealing their unexpected guest. Lamia immediately started to smile and ran towards him, hugging him. " Oh Tom, how great to see you! What a suprise" she said, delighted to see him.

Tom hugged her back, just as tight. When they finally pulled back, they smiled at each other. Tom gave her a small nod, still smiling. " I was near by, so I thought I could visit. I hope I do not come on an unfortunate time"? he asked, glancing at the table with food. Lamia laughed at his hungy expression. " You know you came at the perfect time. We were about to have dinner. Sit down, please" she said, already leading him towards the table.

They all sat down, enjoying the food. Tom told about the boggarts and ghasts he had been dealing with. Jack didn't even mind him being here and talking about his work, like he normally would. He just seemed to enjoy Tom's company.

Soon, it was time to go to bed, since they all had to get up early. Lamia gave James and Jack a kiss, whispering thank you to Jack. He smiled at her, relief clear in his eyes. " Glad I could help, mam. It's good to see you so happy". Lamia gave him another kiss. " All thanks to you. Well, go to sleep darling, I will go soon". Jack nodded before he walked, together with Ellie and Mary, upstairs.

Lamia turned and looked at Tom, who was still sitting on his chair, lost in thought. She walked towards him, sitting down next to him. She lay an hand on his shoulder, making him jump in suprise. " Anything wrong sweetheart"? she asked, worried. He shook his head. " Not really mam. It's just.. welll..". "Well what"? Lamia asked, curious. She wanted to know what was bothering him. Tom sighed. " Close to Mister Gregory's house, there has been spotted a weird, green light. People are too scared to get close and have asked me to help. But i've never heard of, so I kind of hoped-" " I would know something". Tom nodded. "Exactly. So do you mam"? Lamia shook her head. " Afraid not, Tom. Never heard of it. But if it makes you feel any better, we can take a look together. Tomorrow".

Tom looked at her and smiled. " That would be perfect. We can go together and discover the origin". Lamia smiled. " All right, so we are going there tomorrow. Do you want anything to drink or eat? Or are you tired and want to go to bed"?. Tom jawned. " Looks like I don't have much choice, do I? I will go to bed and see you in the morning, mom. Be free to stay here" he said, giving her a kiss on her cheek.

Lamia smiled and got up. " No, thank you. I rather go to my bed. But tomorrow, I will be ready". Tom smiled again. " I have no doubt whatsoever. Sleep well, mother" he said while giving her another kiss. And walked towards his own room, jawning.

The next morning, Tom and Lamia started their travel. It took them a few days, which gave them time to talk, to get to Chipenden. After a travel of three days, they arrived at Chipenden. They didn't waste any time and , after asking a few people the direction, walked towards the strange green light.

When they were close enough to see it, they both gasped. It was enormous. It looked a little like when the Ordeen had appeared in Greece, with strong winds and something that looked like lightning. Except it was green instead of blue.

Tom and Lamia exchanged a look before walking towards it, very carefully and slowly. When they got closer, they felt the wind pulling on their clothes. When the wind became stronger, Lamia understood. " TOM! GET AWAY"! Tom turned to her, the winds getting stronger and almost blowing him away. " WHAT"? he tried. " GET AWAY. IT'S TOO DANGEROUS, IT'S A- AAAAAAA"! Another strong wind suddenly pulled Lamia towards the hole in the sky.

She tried to escape, but wasn't strong enough. She saw Tom scream and ran towards her, trying to grab her hand. " NO! GET AWAY, SAVE YOURSELF" she screamed, desperate. But it was too late, they were both lost. They were flying in the air, unable to do anything about it.

Tom was close and looked at her, his green eyes full of fear and confusion. He tried to move towards her, to grab her hand. Lamia felt she was about to lose consciousness. The last thing she saw was Tom, screaming her name. After that, darkness.

When Lamia opened her eyes, she saw she lay on a bed, a few children sitting next to her. She groaned, looking around. One of the girls, with blond hair and piercing grey eyes, smiled at her. " Hey, you are awake. How do you feel"? Lamia got up, feeling a sharp pain in her head. " I have been better, but thank you for asking. Where is my son"? she asked, remembering Tom had been with her.

The girl frowned. " Your son"? Lamia sighed. " The man that came with me. Brown hair and green eyes? A year of fifteen"? The girl smiled. " Oh, Percy is with him. I expect him to awake soon. Drink this". The girl offered her a cup of something that looked like honey. Lamia frowned, but decided to drink it.

She took a careful sip while the girl stared at her with those piercing grey eyes. Her eyes shut open when she tasted it. It tasted delicious, even better than the best wine she had ever had. Eagerly, she drank it all. Only when the last drop was gone, she released the cup. " What is that? It's delicious" she told the girl, who laughed. She took the cup from Lamia and placed it on the table. " Nektar. The drink of the gods" she said( _Yes, I know, only demigods and gods are supposed to drink it, but I decided she could too_).

Lamia tensed. Drink of the gods? What did that mean? She decided to ask later. " All right. Sure. Where am I"? The girl slapped herself. " Vlakas! I'm so sorry. You're in camp half-blood. Welcome"! she said, smiling broadly.

**Liked it? Hated it? Review and let me now:) I'm trying hard, but I have no idea how the people talked centuries ago, so I'm using modern language. Just imagine they are talking old-fashioned:)** **And with an accent!**


	2. Waking up

**do not own Percy Jackson& the Olympians. Or the Wardstone Chronicles. Enjoy and review!**

Lamia stared at the girl. Camp half-blood? What? " Where is that? What is that? I have never heard of it before" Lamia asked, confused. The girl frowned. " You haven't? But aren't you- Never mind" she said. Lamia sighed. " You wanted to divulge something. What is it"? she asked.

She saw the girl stared at her and, slowly, started to smile. She took a chair and sat next to Lamia. " Great, it sounds like you are smart. Do you like to read? Or write? Or wait, do you like artichecture, because-". Lamia interrupted her. " Firstly, thank you for that remark. And yes, I do believe I'm smart. Secondly, I like writing, do not write and I have nothing to do with architecture. Will you-". The girl frowned. " You don't? But it's amazing! I especially relish the temples which were made for the gods, they are beautiful. but i like others too, of course. Like Hoover Dam. Or-". Lamia couldn't help herself, she laughed. She raised her arms. " All right, I get it. You like architecture. A _lot_. But I need your help, all right? We will talk about architecture later". The girl smiled. " That sounds tremendous! Oh, I'm Annabeth, by the way. What's your name"?.

Lamia hesitated; which name should she use? Zenobia or Lamia? Or just Miss Ward? Annabeth was looking at her, she had to say her name fast. It would be strange if she hesitated too long. Like she didn't know her name anymore. " Zenobia. Zenobia is my name" Lamia said. She didn't want to be connected to that name ever again. She couldn't remember the last time she had introduced herself as Lamia. Perhaps when she had met Zeus. And she didn't want to think back to that time, even when she had been so happy. And foolish. _Fool I was to believe him. I will never make that mistake again. Last time I did, it cost me my children and mental health. _Annabeth smiled. " That's a strange name. You don't hear it very often. I believe there was a queen named Zenobia. Are you named after her"? Lamia shrugged, not sure what to say. " One of my friends gave me that name. I have used it ever since. So are you finally going to tell me where I am. Or where you found me"? she said, hoping Annabeth would stop talking about her name. It worked.

Annabeth stopped talking about her name and explained what had happened. " I already told you, this is camp half-blood. All demi-gods are brought here and-". "Demi-gods? You mean half god, half human"? Lamia asked, curious. Annabeth nodded. " Yes, exactly. You know, all those stories about the ancient Greek gods? There are true and-". " I know they are true. Believe me, I know" Lamia interrupted. Annabeth looked at her, suprised. " You do? So you already know what you are". Lamia sighed. " I am a lot and I'm _very_ aware of it. But do you know"? Annabeth shrugged. " Of course I do. You're a demi-god. Only demi-gods can enter this camp. Well, demi-gods and gods, but that would mean you're a goddess. And I don't think you are. No offense". Lamia smiled. " I'm not a goddess. Where did you find us"?

Lamia didn't tell her she wasn't a demi-god either. Annabeth was obviously a very bright girl. Lamia suspected she would soon found out who Lamia really was. And she didn't want that. Annabeth seemed to know a lot about the Greek gods and probably about her too. Lamia knew there were a lot of stories about her and she didn't want to end in a prison or worse. She focused on annabeth again, eager to know more about this strange place. " We found you on Half Blood hill, together with a boy. You were both unconscious. No one has seen you walk, or more likely run, towards our camp. You just were suddenly here. You didn't have any wounds, but our doctors stated you were both exhausted and dehydrated. And maybe in shock. So we brought you to the infirmary" Annabeth explained.

Lamia nodded, trying to put the pieces together. _So that hole- portal, has brought us here. And those people- Wait! Where is camp half-blood exactly? _She looked at Annabeth again; she should now. If Tom and she were lucky, they were still somewhere in the county. If not.. they would have a hard time getting home. Lamia sighed. She would worry about getting home later. She first needed to know where she and Tom were.

When she knew their location, they could start making a plan to get home. " I know we are in camp half-blood, but were exactly is camp half-blood and -". Lamia frowned when an idea hit her. She had still been tired when she woke up, what had made it hard to think. but now, her head was clear and she could think straight again. And now she thought about, how could there be half-bloods if the gods were gone? Annabeth had told her the Greek gods _existed_, like they were still alive. Alive... like they had been thousands of years ago. When Lamia had been young and naive. And believed that an ancient god could love her. _Where exactly am I? _Lamia thought, a little shocked by this realization.

She looked up to find Annabeth looking at her. " Anything wrong? You suddenly fell silent" Annabeth said, her voice sounding concerned. Lamia swallowed, very nervous suddenly. " Demi-gods, these are children from a god and a human, right"? Annabeth nodded. " Yes, why? What is your point"? Lamia clenched her fists. " So those Greek gods... They are still alive"? Lamia bent a little forward, nervous and maybe even scared. Scared to face her past. Her _terrible_ past she had hoped to leave behind. Her heart stopped beating for a moment when Annabeth shrugged. " Yes, they are. Again, why" she said, in a casual tone. She obviously didn't care as much as Lamia, who had suffered because of the same gods.

Lamia felt like she couldn't breathe anymore, feeling an overwhelming urge to scream or run, but she had to know. Had to know if _he_ was alive. " All of them? What about the king of gods, is he alive"? she asked, her voice shaking a little. Annabetj frowned and gave her a funny look which clearly said; why on earth would you want to know that? She nodded. " Yes, he is. And he is still king. Why? Do you think he is your father"? Lamia let out a nervous laugh, feeling like she was losing control again. Losing her mind again. And it was funny, in a way. The girl couldn't be wrong. _He isn't my father, definetely not. He used to be my lover, girl _Lamia thought, remembering once again how charming he had been. And how naive she had been. She felt really nervous, maybe even ill, when she remembered how bad it had all ended.

Annabeth suddenly looked worried. Apparently, she had noticed something was wrong. She got up and walked towards Lamia to put an hand on her forehead. " Are you all right? You look deadly pale. And you're sweating. Do you have a fever or something"? Lamia shook her head. She knew this had nothing to do with illnesses. It had to do with the worst experience of her life and the long time after it when her life had been terrible. When she had done so much evil, she once thought nothing good could come from her ever again.

But she had been wrong. She had given birth to Tom. And Tom would save them all, Lamia just knew. Still, all the bad things she had done kept haunting her. And the cause of it all might still be there. Which should be impossible. Unless.. this was another time. That could be it. And it would be the only explanation. The gods shouldn't exist anymore. But maybe, that hole had brought her back in time, to when it all started.

She took a deep breath to calm herself. " Annabeth? What date is it? I have forgotten" she asked the girl, who was still trying to discover if Lamia was ill. Annabeth lowered her hand, her frown deepening. " You have forgotten? Do you have amnesia or something"? Lamia shook her head. " No. I will explain later, but I need to know" she said, trying to sound confident and calm.

She gave Annabeth a pleading look, hoping the girl would uinderstand it was important. Annabeth looked at her like she was crazy, which she might be or become soon, but responded. " 2007. Why"? Lamia stared at her, unable to interpret Annabeth's words. _2007? But that would mean.. that would mean.. we are in the future! _

Lamia was shocked. How could that have happenned? How could she and Tom have been sent to the future, a future where Zeus was still, or again, alive? Lamia was absolutely overwhelmed by all what was happening. She didn't know what to feel. She was confused, mad, annoyed, afraid...

She felt a lot, but didn't even know why she felt it. Lamia sighed. She felt nausious too, like she was ready to faint or throw up. Or maybe both. First throw up, then faint. But she couldn't. She needed to be strong, to get Tom and herself back to home.

Lamia took a deep breath, trying to calm herself somehow. She looked at Annabeth, who was still looking at her with a very worried expression. " I estimate you're ill. You look terrible. How do you feel"? she asked Lamia.

Lamia managed a weak smile. " I'm fine, really. I will explain everything later, but right now I just need to get to my son. And quick" she said. There was an uncomfortable silence. Lamia could read Annabeth's expression perfectly. It was saying, no screaming, she is crazy! Do something! " Your.. son"? Annabeth eventually said, still that look on her face.

Lamia rolled her eyes. " Yes, my son. The boy who was with me. Brown hair, green eyes. Do you remember"? Annabeth smiled. The kind of smile you would give a small children who said there were monsters under his bed. " Of course. You think he is your son"? Annabeth asked, looking at Lamia like she was crazy.

Lamia sighed. Like you would do when someone asked you a stupid question and you had to explain it was stupid. Again. " Yes, my son. And I do not _believe _it, I know it. I gave birth to him, not something you would forget soon". Annabeth was still smiling, very slowly taking a few steps back. " Listen Zenobia, I want to believe you, I really do. But you are too young to be a mother of a son of , what is he, fourteen"? Lamia gritted her teeth. " Fifteen. And believe me, I'm not that young. I might seem young, but I'm a lot older than you".

This caught Annabeth's attention; she took a step forward, her face displaying curiousity now. " Really? What is your age? And if you are a demi-god, why do you look so young while you are old? Do you use some special products or something"? Lamia sighed. " My age doesn't matter. Just believe me when I'm say I'm older than I look. And I'm not a demi-god and certainly do _not _use any products. Can you bring me to my son now"?

Annabeth hesitated. " But-" " But nothing! I need to get to my son. I will explain later,. I really promise, but I have to get to him. So tell me where he is". Annabeth nodded. " All right, I will show you. But only if you are really well enough to leave the bed".

Before Annabeth was even finished, Lamia was already walking away from the bed. " Where is Tom? Which way" she asked Annabeth, who was behind her. Annabeth pointed to a direction. " There are the latest boys who were brought in. Your.. son should be there. Let's go"!.

Lamia nodded and walked faster, eager to close her arms around her son again. When she saw his bed, with him in it, she started running. She run towards his bed, sinking on her knees next to it. She brushed the hair from Tom's face and gave him a soft kiss. " Tom.. Are you all right"? she asked, her heart filled with fear and concern.

For a short and very horrible moment, she thought he woudln't react. But he opened his eyes and smiled at her. Other than some bruises, probably from an harsh landing, he looked fine. Lamia healed fast, thanks to her powers, so she didn't have any bruises. She smiled back at Tom, relieved he was ok. She held his face between her hands. " You are all right, thank the gods you are".

" They will appreciate that" Annabeth said, who had reached them. Lamia ignored her, her attention on Tom. Tom, her precious son. She hugged him, so relieved he was alive. And safe. " Never scare me like that again. I do not want to lose any more chilren" she whispered. Tom hugged her back, she felt him tremble. " And I hope you never scare _me_ like that again. I need you, more than ever". Lamia pulled back, giving him a kiss on his cheek and got up.

When she turned to Annabeth, she saw Annabeth was smiling. But she looked a little sad too. " What is wrong, girl"? Annabeth smiled. " It's just.. the way you treat each other. You must love each other very much". Lamia smiled. " We do. And all parents love their children, I believe". Annnabeth was still smiling, although her smile was quickly vanishing. She was frowning instead of smiling now. " Not all parents. My parents are a little different. And I find it hard to believe you are his mother. It isn't logical. I know, certain people can look whatever they want to, but you said you aren't a goddess. And you certainly look too young to be a mother. You look more like his older sister. Or girlfriend" she added with a smile.

Tom coughed. " Believe me, she is my mother. Not my sister, since I don't have any sisters. Only six brothers and-" Lamia saw Annabeth's eyes widen. " Six! That's a lot. All from the same parents"? Tom nodded. " Of course. And I don't know where you come from, but most people have six or sometimes even more where I come from. How many brothers or sisters do you have"? Annabeth bit her lips, looking away. " About eleven. But they are all half-brothers and half-sisters. My dad has three children, me and my two brothers and my mothers has , as far as I know, eight children".

Tom frowned. " But if you have eleven brothers and sisters, why did you think six were a lot"? Annabeth shrugged and looked at Lamia. " Your .. mother looks so young. Absolutely not like she has given birth to eleven children. And my mother, well she is a lot older". " I wouldn't be so sure" Tom mumbled. " Who is your mother, Annabeth"? Lamia asked, curious. The comment about her mother's age, had caught Lamia's attention.

Annabeth stared at her. " You don't know? Athena, goddess of wisdom, of course. Most people here immediately know it when they see me". Lamia heard Tom gasp. She turned to her son, who looked shocked. " Goddess? You mean, you're mother is a goddess"? Annabeth sighed. " Yes, a greek goddess". " Athena is a virgin" Lamia commented.

Annabeth turned to her and rolled her eyes. " She is, so? Do you know the story of her birth"? Lamia gave her an angry glare. " Of course I do. She sprang from Zeus' head, in full battle armour. Zeus had swallowed her mother after a prophecy her second child, a son, would overthrow him. He decided to swallow Metis, avoiding the birth of her second child. But Metis was pregnant with Athena when he swallowed her. Athena grew in his head, until he got a very severe headache and Hephaestus, god of fire, got his axe to split his skull. And Athena sprang from Zeus' head" Lamia said.

She saw Tom looked really angry. " I really don't like that Zeus. Which man would ever swallow a woman"? He looked at Lamia and his expression softened a bit. " He really destroys the lifes of the women he meets. While he is married"! Lamia shot him a look that meant stop talking, but Tom just went on. " Seriously, he is just as bad as the devil, he-".

Tom was interrupted by the sound of thunder. Annabeth ran towards him and placed her hand over his mouth. " Are you crazy?! He can hear you! And it isn't smart to insult the gods. Their revenge will be terrible" she hissed. She removed her hands, so Tom could breathe again.

He gave her an angry glare and got out of the bed. " Where on earth are you talking about? The gods are gone"! Annabeth gave him a look. " Oh great, you are both crazy. And they aren't gone morron! They are still alive and can hear your insults, so shut up" Annabeth exclaimed, looking at the sky.

Tom clenched his fists, Lamia couldn't remember seeing him this angry before. " NO! I can't believe you are defending them! And especially _him_. Do you know what he did to my mother? He is evil, the spook told me and he is always right, and if he is still alive, I will make it my mission to destroy him".

Annabeth gaped at Tom, her eyes wide with suprise. " Are you both crazy? He is a god, you wouldn't even get near him. He would just blast you. And why do you think he has done anything to your mother"? Tom's face was all red by now. Lamia wanted to make him stop, but she just stood there, not moving. " BECAUSE SHE IS- mmm".

Lamia ran towards him, putting her hands over his mouth. She smiled at Annabeth. " Don't listen to him. He is still a little baffled from what happened". "What _exactly _happened"? Annabeth asked, her gaze focused on Tom. Lamia sighed and, after she let Tom go, motioned to a chair. Luckily, there was no one expect the wounded and them , so they could talk in private. Tom remained silent, understanding Lamia wanted him to.

She explained everything. How they had seen the hole in the sky, she believed it was a time portal, and had been brought to this place.

She told Annabeth about some of her powers, but left out she was Lamia. At the end of the story, Annabeth looked concerned. she believed them. " This is bad. Really bad. The only one I can think of with the power to make a time portal, is Kronos. And you have not only been teleported through time, but also space. We have to tell Chiron and Mr.D" Annabeth said.

Lamia and Tom exchanged a look. " Who are those people"? Tom asked. Annabeth got up. " You will see. Follow me. We have to tell them this".

Without any further explanation, Annabeth walked away. Lamia and Tom followed her, unsure what to do else.

After a short walk, they reached a big cabin. They walked inside and saw two people on chairs. One was a man with a purple shirt, the other was part horse. " A centaur" Lamia whispered. She felt a sudden burst of homesickness. She had been born in Greece, after all. And the centaur reminded her of home. How it had once been.

She heard Tom gasp and look at the centaur, his hands in his pockets with salt and iron. She bent over to him. " Don't worry. Centaurs are kind creatures. He won't hurt us" she whispered. Tom nodded, but still looked tense.

They all walked forward. Lamia saw the centaur's eyes widen at their sight. She gave him a small nod. Tom followed her example. Annabeth cleared her throat. " Ehh Chiron? Mr.D"? The centaur smiled at her while the man with the purple shirt didn't even look up. He seemed focused on something in his hands. " Yes, Annie? What is it this time"? the man said, sounding very bored.

" _Annabeth_" Annabeth muttered, but she didn't say it at loud. She straightened a bit. " We have very important news, Mr.D". The man, apparently he was Mr.D, looked up. " Really? Can't it wait, Annabelle"? he asked, his gaze never leaving his cards.

Lamia saw Annabeth's hand went to her knife. She had the feeling the man used those names just to annoy her. Annabeth shook her head, her hand on her knife. " No, I'm sorry. It affects the gods too, Mr.D".

The man finally had a spark of interest in his eyes. He raised his eyebrows, while Chiron was still staring at Tom and Lamia, his eyes narrowed. " Really, is it _that_ important? Where are those guests"? Mr.D asked. Annabeth pointed at Lamia and Tom. " There they are. And they bring very important news" she said.

Lamia froze when the man looked at her. She recognized him. He was Dionysos, god of wine. And from the look in his eyes, he recognized her too. Even when she looked so different. Every Greek god knew her. He narrowed his eyes at her. " Lamia" he said. She swallowed, but didn't show her emotion. " Dionysos. What a.. pleasure to see you".


	3. From the past

**I do not own Percy Jackson & the Olympians. I wish I did, because that would mean I was a great writor, but sadly I don't. I don't own the Wardstone Chronicles either, but it would be awesome if I did! Before this annoying disclaimer is ended ( and I hope you are reading this), please review! Reviews give me inspiration and that means I will update faster. I really like writing this story, but if I don't get any reviews, my inspiration is very low and I probably won't update a lot. All right, enjoy!**

Lamia stared at the man, or actually god, before her. She knew who he was, of course. He was Dionysos, god of wine. She had met him before, one time, when the Olympians had caught her and changed her into the monster.

Part of the reason she had become _the_ lamia was the loss of her children, who she had loved more than anything in the world even when she didn't really know them yet, what driven her mad. The other part was the punsihment of the gods; they had changed her as punishment for all the murders she had commited.

She still felt terrible about all those deaths, but they were the past. She couldn't do anything about it and those people wouldn't be helped if she just let herself die. Now, she had to try to do something good. Of course, the gods had ruined her life. Well, particulary Zeus. But she couldn't blame them for everything that went wrong at that time. If she had pushed Zeus away, it wouldn't have happened. Although she doubted he would have accepted it. Or if she would have reacted different to the death of her children. Her beloved, _innocent_ children. She still couldn't understand how someone could murder them.

Hera, that stupid, mean woman, had killed her children just for being alive. _How unfair can you be? They didn't have anything to do with me falling in love with the wrong person. Seriously, if anybody is to blame, it's Zeus. I shouldn't have let him in, of course, but he was the one cheating. I didn't even know who he was at the time. _Then again, she _had_ known the times after the, what was it, third time? She didn't know anymore. It had been so long ago.

Lamia knew she had made mistakes, oh she knew. And she regretted them and felt them every day. But she didn't think it was all her fault; the gods weren't innocent either. They hadn't improved the situation exactly. Lamia understood Hera's rage, but it just wasn't fair to Lamia's children. They were death because of something their _mother_ had done. And wasn't that ironically, being killed by the so-called mother-goddess?

Lamia sighed. And after the death of her children, when she had been crazy, they hadn't helped either. Now, they had punished her. _I know I deserved that punishment, but couldn't they have stopped me earlier? Before all those people, all those face which still bother me, were killed? _Lamia thought, feeling a bit depressed.

She looked at Dionysos again, one of the gods who had done anything but help. Dionysos presence brought back her memories. The memories she had tried to burry. Her first encounter with Zeus, that was supposed to be an happy memory but she recalled what had happened after. The next times they had seen each other. The day she found out who he was. She had wanted to run, to never see him again. She had even told him to leave her alone. But he had not listened and she had loved him so much she didn't have the power to keep rejecting him. So she had been his again. It had been so wonderful, so perfect... until Hera had found out.

She remembered how mad the queen of gods had been, her eyes glowing. Lamia had a lot of power, but not enough to battle a completely furious Hera. She recalled her beautiful children being killed while she tried to save them, but failed. She recalled she had called Zeus, hoping he would save his children , his own _flesh and blood god damn it!_ But to no avail, all her cries for help had been futile. He had never come and Hera had won.

Lamia had lost everything. The man she loved. Her children. She had felt betrayed, sad, mad, helpless and even vulgar. She had been used.

And now, she might have to face the same people who had ruined her life, stolen everything she had, in a few days. Lamia was fully aware of the situation and cursed her rotten luck. Not that she showed anything. She kept a blank face. After a few thousand years, you learn to hide your emotions. Not that Lamia had had a lot of emotions, except from hate and anger, the long time she had been _the_ lamia.

Dionysos chuckled. " Well.. Well.. what a suprise. The one and only Lamia, right in front of me. Very interesting. What are you doing here? And where is your tail, snake girl"? Dionysos asked with a smug expression. Lamia felt her blood boiling, being mocked like this, but didn't respond to his insults. She straightened. " I am here, because someone opened a portal to transport me into this place. Where I originally come from ,and I am _very_ glad with that, you do not exist anymore". Lamia responded.

Dionysos narrowed his eyes at her, his eyes slowly turning purple. " Are you trying to insult me, one of the great gods? Because you would pay a high prise for that"! he snapped. Lamia smiled sweetly. " Of course not.. Dionysos. I would hate any of the creatures who ruined my life to get upset because their ego can't handle an insult. How are you doing"?

Dionysos stared at her for a few seconds, apparently not sure if he should punish her. Annabeth and Percy followed the conversation, but seemed to be very confused. Even Annabeth, daugther of Athena, couldn't follow it. Then again, she didn't know who Lamia really was. And Tom didn't know who Mr.D was. And the name Dionysos wasn't familiar to him either. Lamia didn't want to think to much about Greece, it was just too painful, so she had never told Tom all the stories about her homeland.

Tom leaned towards her while looking at Dionysos. " Who is that man and why is he insulting you, mam? Can I do anything"? Tom whispered, concern on his face. Lamia smiled. Her son was so kind and symphatetic, like his father had been.

She shook her head. " You can't. He is a god, the wine god to be precise". Tom tensed. " Another god? That's really bad. How do you kill them"? Lamia frowned. " Sweetheart, it isn't really smart to ask how to kill a god if he is right in front of you". Dionysos clapped his hands. " Very smart Lamia. You are exactly my father's type, smart _and_ pretty". Dionysos looked at her, almost if he was inspecting her and smiled slightly. " _Very_ pretty".

Tom took a step forward, protecting her with his body. He show Dionysos an angry glare. " Don't even think about doing something weird. Keep your hands of my mother"! he said , his staf in his hand. Dionysos looked at him and chuckled. " And what do we have here? Some little hero? Are you trying to defend-" Dionysos froze, realizing something.

He glared at Tom. " Did you say _mother_, boy"? Lamia almost cursed when she realized Tom had just revealed he was her son. Now, he might be in danger.

Before Tom could say anything, revealing even more, Lamia pushed him behind her and asked him silently to stop talking.

She smiled at Dionysos. " Listen Dionysos, our arrival here is important. There might be a war or something soon. You will have to do something! Talk to your family"! she said, trying to keep him from asking his question again. It turned out different, because at that moment, Annabeth decided to ask something. She looked really confused and you could notice she didn't like it. Her eyes shift between Lamia and Dionysos, not sure who to adress.

Eventually, she chose Dionysos. She locked eyes with him, her grey eyes full of determination. " Mr.D? What is going on here? Do you know this girl"? Lamia rolled her eyes. " Woman. I'm older than I look". Dionysos grinned. " A lot older. And yes, Beth I know her. Don't you get it? I said her name a few times". Annabeth frowned, obviously trying to find the name. And for once, ignoring the fact Dionysos couldn't get her name right.

Suddenly, her face brightened. " I know again. You callled her Lamia, like-". Annabeth's eyes widened when realization hit her. Dionysos had said _the_ Lamia. Not as in a name, but more like the one everyone should know about. And of course, the comment about snakes had been a clue too. Besides, Annabeth was really smart. It wasn't hard for her to realize the truth.

Annabeth looked at Lamia, her eyes full of suprise and wariness. After she took a good look at Lamia, especially her legs she probably expected to be a tail, Annabeth turned her attention to Dionysos again. Although she kept looking at Lamia from the corners of her eyes.

Annabeth raised her eyebrow. " You are kidding, right? You can't seriously mean, _the_ Lamia is in our camp. The same Lamia that killed hundreds of people. The same Lamia who has been a monster for a very long time"? Annabeth started to sound mad, probably because she thought Lamia was going to drink their blood or something.

Dionysos groaned. " Listen Elizabeth, you-" "_Annabeth_" Annabeth snapped, too annoyed to think about the consequences of acting like this against a god. Dionysos rolled his eyes. " Sure. And yes, I am serious. That woman you see, is the Lamia. The Lamia that killed thousands of people" Dionysos said, actually sounding bored. Annabeth looked at Lamia again, her eyes shifting towards Lamia's legs. " She doesn't have a tail, like in the stories. The gods punished her for all her crimes and changed her lower body into that of a snake. Where is her tail"? Annabeth asked, her voice sounding more and more angry.

Dionysos shrugged. " Don't ask me. Ask her. I have no idea what she has been doing the past thousand years". Annabeth looked at Lamia, but Lamia interrupted her before she could ask. " I heard the entire conversation, you don't have to ask anymore. I can change my form at will and when I spent a lot of time with humans, I automatically change my form towards my human one. And you don't have to be afraid or anything, because thise days are over. I promise".

Annabeth hesitated, then nodded. " I think I believe you. And we have other matters to discuss, so we will need to discuss this later". She turned towards Dionysos again, her face full of concern. Before she could say anything, Dionysos interrupted her just like Lamia had done. Lamia heard Annabeth mutter something about being interrupted all the time and no respect, but Lamia couldn't hear everything. She just knew it was nothing positive, since Annabeth was so annoyed.

Dionysos looked at Annabeth, looking bored again even when his hands were slightly trembling. He smiled at Annabeth, but not a nice smile. More the kind of smile you expect from someone of an horror movie with a knife in his hands. He chuckled. " I know what you want to ask. What we should do. And I say, bring Lamia to your cabin, I will take care of Tom".

Annabeth opened her mouth to say something, but decided against it. She grabbed Lamia's arm and dragged her along, ignoring Chiron and Tom who both had been really quit.

They arrived at the Athena cabin and Annabeth, finally, let go of Lamia's arm. She turned towards her, her face a little grim. " Just a warning. Try anything funny, try to hurt one of the campers and you are dead. Understood"? Lamia nodded. Annabeth sighed and turned. She opened the doors and disappeared inside. Lamia followed her, into the unknown.


	4. A good talk

**I don't own Percy Jackson & the Olympians. Or the wardstone chronicles. Enjoy!**

Lamia followed Annabeth inside the cabin. Cabin nine, it said. Obviously the Athena cabin. Lamia saw the symbol of an owl, the symbol of Athena.

When they were inside, she looked around, taking in the interior. She saw some beds, about twelve. There were a lot of bookshelves. Lamia also saw what looked like designs. A lot of them. And she saw some weird black, box she didn't recognize. It was radiating light and she could make out words on the screen. Lamia frowned. _Why would someone have a black box in his room? What is it? _she thought, still staring at the so-called black box.

Annabeth saw her staring and sighed. " It's called a laptop. It's a machine and you can use it for various purposes. You can search information, on the web and-" Annabeth started to explain, but Lamia interrupted her. " The web? What is that? The only webs I know are spiderwebs. And I doubt you can find information from that". Lamia tried to lift the girl's spirit , but Annabeth was still frowning and looked far from happy. Lamia noticed the girl shivered when she said the word _spider_ .

She smiled at Annabeth. " You don't like spiders, do you"? Annabeth looked at her, a little suprised. " No, I don't. How did you guess that"? Lamia shrugged. " You shivered when I said the word spider and you looked absolutely repulsive. But that could also be about me, not the mention of spiders" Lamia said.

She understood the girl perfectly. In Annabeth's eyes, Lamia was a monster. And Lamia had to admit, for a long time she had been exactly that. A monster. A beast. Dark, evil. But she hadn't just been a monster. She had been crazy, uncontrollable. Knowing nothing of logic or mercy or kindness. Only knew revenge and bloodthirst. Truly crazy.

And when she came to her senses again, it had been too late. She had already murdered innocent people, caused so much grief. She hated herself for doing those things, but she couldn't do anything about it. She could just try to make up for it. Do some good deeds and hope it might help somehow.

And it was true what she had told Tom; she really was a _different_ person. Now, centuries later, she couldn't understand how she had been able to do all those things. Killing people. Drinking blood. Having children with chaemog. That had been weird too. Lamia smiled a little when she thought about that. She remembered the spider creature. _That_ part of her history, luckily, wasn't known to a lot of people. To be honest, she didn't want _anyone_ to know she had a spider, or something that looked like it, as a lover. And she _certainly_ didn't want anyone to know she bore him triblets who had become the proginitors of an entire evil race. Another thing to add to her list of crimes.

_Funny. All the crimes I have done, were a result of sleeping with the wrong man, god or spider-like screature. The only time when there came good of it , was with John. _Lamia thought.

Lamia smiled when she remembered her husband, Tom's father. How he had shielded her from the sun when they first met, not paying attention to the fact she was bound with silver and the sun burned her. Unable to believe she was evil, which she had been. How he been there all afternoon. Had missed his ship for her. He hadn't realized he really had saved her. Not just his life. He had helped towards the light. Without him, she wouldn't be where she was now.

Orginally, she hadn't loved him. She had just seen him as a way to defeat her enemy; the fiend. But to succeed in doing so, she had paid a price. She had to live on a farm, like some ordinary woman. Bear the children of a sailor. And give up her youth and home.

She had expected to hate her new life, but to her suprise , she had grown to love her husband and enjoy her new life. He hadn't been the most handsome man she had ever encountered, but he had been handsome. And muscular. besides, after Zeus, she didn't think any man could win the title of most handsome man. Zeus had been really handsome. And look what he did to her.

Her life with John had definitelty been better. For the first time in centuries, she had felt happiness. John had truly loved her. And she had grown to love him. The man that had rescued her.

She had felt so much happiness when their children were born. Especially when Tom was born. Lamia had never been happier. She still had Tom with her, but she had lost John. To the death. She hated she could do nothing about it. She wanted him close, the only man that had ever loved her and made her happy instead of miserable.

Zeus hadn't stood up for here, hadn't shown any of the love he had claimed to feel for her. And Chaemog, well Chaemog was a monster, Lamia realized that. From their relationship, nothing good had come. Their children had been monsters, like Lamia had once been. Only John had been something good. He had changed her, made her happy and given her wonderful children.

Annabeth suddenly cleared her throat, bring Lamia back to the present. She looked at the girl. Annabeth's expression had changed, softened. She still looked wary, but there was also sympathy and pity in her eyes. She offered Lamia a small smile. " I didn't mean that. I don't think you are repulsive. You seem really nice. It's just.. The stories about you-". Lamia sighed. " I know. And long ago, you would have been right to think i'm an monster. But I have changed and am glad about it. When I did al those horrible things, I was crazy. Couldn't think clear and I did a lot I regret. But I'm trying to make up for it".

Annabeth frowned. She looked like she tried to remember something. Suddenly, her face lit up. " I remember! You were one of Zeus'... mistresses. You were pregnant of his children and Hera found out. She killed your children and it drove you crazy. You started murdering people. The story says it went un until their blood formed rivers".

Lamia nodded. " Exactly. I couldn't bear the loss of my children. And their father.. he did _nothing_. I begged him to save my children, since I couldn't handle Hera myself. I was strong, but not strong enough to win from the queen of the gods. I needed him. But he never came" Lamia said, mad even after all those years. Annabeth sent her another sympathetic look. " That must have been horrible. And hey,if it helps, I don't like Hera either. She tried to kill me and did some other nasty things".

Lamia looked at Annabeth, who had a look of hatred on her face. But Lamia knew it wasn't directed at her , but at Hera. Lamia smiled. "Well, that makes two of us. If I ever see that Skila again.. I will tear her apart. Seriously, I have changed, but only the name of that.. insult to the gods and Greece, makes my blood boil. I wouldn't mind killing her. Not that I like killing, but she deserves it". Annabeth chuckled. " I can imagine. I have the same problem". Lamia looked at Annabeth, curious. It was clear that the girl hated Hera almost as much as she did. She wondered why. " What exactly has happened between you and Hera"?You could hear thunder for a moment. Annabeth glanced at the sky, her expression changing a bit. She cursed. " We better not name those people again. Before you know it, you will be struck with lightning. Or changed into a cow".

Lamia chuckled. " All right. So what did she do to you"? she asked Annabeth. Annabeth snorted. " I questioned her actions, which she found disrespectful. So she wanted revenge. For saying something to her she didn't want to hear! It started with small things, like cows following me and leaving.. little presents. But in the end, she tried to kill me. She made a statue drop, if it would have hit me, I would have been dead. But it fell on a friend of mine, Thalia. Luckily, she is immortal so she survived it. And she hates demi-gods and always gets in our way. She also has done as lot to Thalia, who she _really_ hates and it's another reason I don't like her. She needs to leave my friends alone".

Lamia understood Annabeth perfectly. If anyony dared to hurt someone Lamia cared for, she would make them pay. " Why does she hates Thalia, your friend, so much"? she asked Annabeth. Annabeth hesitated for a moment, somehow looking uncomfortable. Lamia smiled. " What? You don't want to tell me? Is it a secret or something"? Annabeth shook her head. " No, but you won't like it". Lamia frowned. " Why won't I like it? Of course, I don't like the idea of Hera bothering your friend. She should leave innocent people alone and do something about the ones who really _did _something".

Annabeth smiled. " Yes, I agree with that. But you won't like it, because the reason is.. Thalia is a daughter of Zeus". Lamia's smiled faded. _A child of Zeus? That bastard just continued cheating and ruining lives? How dares he! _Lamia thought. Lamia didn't really know what she felt. Anger, sure. That Zeus could be so selfless. Pity, for the girl. Her life would be very dangerous, she could imagine. What she didn't feel was jealousy. She didn't love Zeus anymore. She had stopped loving him when he hadn't saved their children. When he had let his crazy wife destroy them. Those innocent, little children who Lamia had loved so much.

Annabeth looked at her with a lot of worry. Lamia could see she expected Lamia to be really mad. And maybe jealous. But all she said was poor girl. Annabetj sighed, relieved. " Yeah. Life for a demi-god is never easy, but for her it is even harder. Being the daugther of one of the big three, she has a lot of problems. She even got changed into a tree for a few years". Lamia frowned. " Why ? Did Hera do that"? Annabeth shook her head. " No. Thalia, Me, and some other friends were fleeing. Monsters were following us, trying to eat us. We tried to get to the camp, where we would be safe, but there were just too many. Thalia urged us to go on and stayed behind to fight the remaining monsters. Zeus turned her into a tree, probably thinking he saved her". Lamia rolled her eyes. " Sure, why not change your daughter into a tree? Such a great parent really. But then again, he never was the brightest".

Annabeth smiled. " I wouldn't say that too loud. He might hear you. And I don't know what he will do. He might punish you. And if Hera saw you..". Annabeth didn't finish her sentence, but Lamia knew what she meant. Hera would kill her or something worse. And enjoy it a lot.

Lamia nodded grimly. " Yes, I know. But it is the truth". Annabeth chuckled. " You can say that. Nothing against him, but I'm sure my mom doesn't have her brains from him". Lamia grinned. " I highly doubt that, yes. He is not exactly stupid, but not really smart either". Annabeth looked at her. " Then why-. Never mind" she said. She looked away, blushing. Lamia smiled. " What? You wanted to ask me something". Annabeth turned her head. " I did, but it might be too personal".

Lamia shrugged. " Just ask. I will see if I respond". Annabeth nodded. " All right. I wanted to ask why you fell in love with him. It was obviously not his brains, since he fails to posses a lot. But what was it"? Lamia didn't know what to say for a moment, but decided to be honest. She sighed. " I don't actually. It's just, he was really something. Maybe it was because of his godly powers, not that i knew he was a god. Not at first. He was handsome, that's true. So naturally I felt attracted to him. But maybe it was, because, before Hera ruined everything, he was really kind. He gave me compliments, made me laugh..".

Lamia thougt about the reason she had liked him so much. She suddenly remembered something else that she had liked about him. " _He was really great in bed" _she murmered. Annabeth bent forward, unable to hear her muttering. " What did you say"? Lamia blushed a little. She might be really old, but that didn't mean she felt comfortable discussing those things with Annabeth" It doesn't matter. It is nothing you want to know or would want to discuss, believe me".

Annabeth frowned. She didn't like not knowing, Lamia knew. But she was just trying to help the girl. Lamia was sure she _really_ didn't want to know. And she was too young to discuss things like that. Annabeth was still frowing. Lamia figured she was trying to understand Lamia's words. " Why wouldn't I want to know? I asked , didn't I"? Lamia sighed. " He was really good at.. Well, you know" she blurted out before she could think about it.

Annabeth seemed confused for a moment, but when her eyes widened and she suddenly looked disgusted, Lamia figured she understood. " Oh. Right. You were right after all, I didn't really want to know that". Lamia chuckled. " I understand. Not that it was the reason I loved him, but-". She shrugged. " It was It was definitely something positive about him. Well, except he was good at it because he had a lot of practise". Lamia rolled her eyes, thinking about all the mistresses he had.

Annabeth nodded, looking really uncomfortable. She seemed speechless. Lamia bit her lip, finding it amusing. The girl looked really uncomfortable. She kept looking at the door, like she wanted to run away. Lamia couldn't really blame her.

Lamia cleared her throat. " Well, I have answered your question. Shall we talk about something else now? Like architecture. I would like to hear more about that". Annabeth nodded, looking relieved.

For the next hours, they talked about architecture. Lamia told Annabeth how it had been in her time. She even drew some of the buildings. Lamia was a good drawer, so Annabeth was very excited.

When the other Athena kids came into the cabin, Lamia and Annabeth sat on her bed , laughing. They acted like they had been friends for ages. Annabeth was showing Lamia how her laptop worked. Lamia was perplexed; a machine which could do such things? Talk with people on the other side of the planet?Search all sorts of information? Show people? Lamia was really interested. She had asked Annabeth if it was magic, but Annabeth had explained it was science. Lamia was really smart, to Annabeth's delight, so she understood all Annabeth's explanation.

One of Annabeth's sibblings, Cato, stepped forward. " Hey Annabeth, who is your new friend? Is she one of our siblings"? He actually looked disappointed at the thought Lamia was his sibling.

Annabeth and Lamia looked at each other and burst out laughing. The others watched them, looking confused since they didn't get what was funny.

When she managed to stop laughing, Lamia got up and looked at the teenagers. She focused on the boy, Cato, since he had asked the question. He had the same startling grey eyes Annabeth had, but he looked different. He was younger, perhaps fifteen, and had black hair with one curl painted grey.

She walked towards him and offered him her hand. " I'm not one of your sibblings. My name is Lamia. Who are you"? The boy immediately started to smile, taking this as very good news. Lamia almost burst out laughing again. She had the feeling he wouldn't be so pleased when he found out who she really was. Which he would soon, because she would tell him. And even if he didn't mind her being Lamia, there was no _way_ Lamia would like him that way.

He took her hand, shaking it. " Nice to meet you. I'm Cato. Cool name. Are you named after the Lamia". Lamia chuckled. " Not really. I _am _Lamia" she said, smiling.

**Vannesa Masters; thanks for reviewing! And yeah they are in another universe, but the story is the same. The only idfference is in, Lamia universe ( Tom's mother), Zeus is dead and in the Percy Jackson universe he is alive. Oh and I suppose the Lamia from the Percy Jackson universe is dead, but I'm not sure yet. Would be funny if those two met. Except there is a theory if you would meet yourself, or another form of yourself ( like with time travelling or something, the universe will be destroyed. Mm.. I will think about that. **


	5. More talking

**Chapter five already, that goes fast! I won't bother you all, or try to, with a vey looooong disclaimer. However, like always ( I just can't shut up, sorry), I do have a few things to say. Vanessa Masters; interesting, what you wrote about Hecate and the other Lamia, I might need that later on.. But not for now, because Lamia won't meet herself at this moment( wow, that sounds really strange!) and I first want her to meet Zeus. And Hera. What is she going to do? Personally, I would neuter him so he won't bother anymore innocent children. Mmm, or use a spell to make him ugly. Or turn him into the pig he is haha. And attack Hera for being such a bitch. I mean, come on? Your man cheats on you and you punish to **_**woman**_** who has been seduced? That is so unfair! And- I will stop myself before I go on a rant how it's Zeus fault and he is a stupid man ( I'm a bit of a feminist). Ok, after this loooooooong disclaimer (sorry! Bad habit, I will try to stop it); I do not own Percy Jackson& the Olympians. Or the Wardstone Chronicles. Or Greek mythology. Well, I own basically nothing. Enjoy! (en review).**

Cato's reaction was more than satisfying. His mouth dropped open, his eyes went wide and he even took a few steps back. " L-lamia? _You_ are the Lamia"? he stammered, looking at her he anticipated her to attack him. Lamia smiled at the thought. She couldn't even remember the last time she had attacked someone. She didn't hurt people anymore. Well, innocent people that is. She would have to trouble with killing the fiend. Or Wurmalde. Except she was already dead. So she couldn't attack her anymore. There were other people she wouldn't mind attacking though. Like Hera... Lamia narrowed her eyes when she realized something. If Zeus still existed, Hera existed too. Hate clouding her sight for a moment, Lamia thought about it. About Hera. _That bitch killed my children.. _Lamia thought.

She saw Caton swallow nervously, his body tense. He wasn't he only one who reacted to her news like this. The other children looked nervous too. Some even grabbed a sword or knife, Lamia noticed. Annabeth was the only person who wasn't acting really nervous. Or scared. She just sent Lamia a questioning look. " Are you okay"? she mouthed. Lamia nodded.

She took a deep breath, trying to relax. Trying to stop her sudden feelings of hate. She suddenly noticed she had her fists clenched, her own nails burried into her skin. Lamia blinked and, slowly, opened her hands. She had been so mad and, even when she was ashamed to admit it, bloodthirsty, she had started to change form. Her nails were sharper, more like talons. She felt her eyes had changed too. She could see everything clearer. And her other senses had increased too. She could hear the rapid beating of the hearts of the teenagers around her. Could smell their sweet blood flowing. Lamia didn't drink blood anymore, but she still liked the smell.

She inhaled deeply, more to calm herself than to smell the blood even better, and felt herself going back to took a lot of effort, but she managed to calm down and change back to normal. She smiled, reassuringly, she hoped. She raised her hands, to indicate she wasn't going to hurt anybody. Slowly, she saw everyone relax. The people who had unsheathed their swords , and knives, released their grip on the weapons and sheathed them again.

Lamia sighed, a sigh of relief. She _really_ didn't want to fight these children. If she had to, she would defend herself. But she could never truly hurt them. The only times she had hurt a child, was when she had been crazy. And Lamia never wanted to hurt a person, an _innocent_, person again. She had changed and refused to do something like that. She might have been a monster, she couldn't deny that after all she done, but she wouldn't hurt those children. They were innocent.

She smiled at Cato, seeing he was still close. " Sorry for that. I have been a bit.. tense lately. Everyone all right"? When everyone slowly nodded, like robots ( or _really_ scared children), she smiled again. She tried to look less threatening. Now, she didn't had that crazy look she was sure she had a few moments before, it was easier.

She coughed, feeling akward. " Right. Ehhm, like I already said, I am Lamia and-". " You can't be her"! Cato suddenly exclaimed, his face brightening for a second. He motioned to her legs and up. " You don't look like her! You are supposed to be a monster"! Lamia flinched at the word _monster, _but Cato didn't seem to notice. He just went on, making wild gestures while he talked. " If you _were_ Lamia, you would look different. You would have talons, at the very least. Or a serpent's tail, like you had in the stories. Or something else. And it is not the mist which is making you look like this" Cato ended, his face red. His eyes shone, now he had decided he had misunderstood her or she was delusional. Which confused Lamia greatly, since it was foolish to think her being delusional was good news. _Really_ foolish.

She raised her hands, trying to calm down the boy. " I'm sorry boy, but-" she started, only to be interrupted when Cato suddenly smiled even wider, apparently found another hole in her story. " You wouldn't even be here, if you were Lamia. _The _Lamia, I mean. Monsters can't enter the camp, unless a god helps them. Or they have to use the labyrinth, which you don't even know of. So you can't be her"! Cato said, smiling. He looked really relieved and happy. Lamia smiled too. She couldn't do anything different. It was.. touching he refused to believe the truth. And why wouldn't he? Everything better than the truth, if she was honest. The truth was really horrible.

Lamia sighed. " Sorry boy, but you are mistaken. I am Lamia. I came here by accident. I do not wish you any harm though". Cato's smiled was replaced by a frown. " You can't be her. Like I already said, she is a monster. And you are a girl, a really pretty one and look nice and- JESUS CHRIST"! Cato cursed when Lamia held her hand on his throat, the nails replaced with talons. _Really _sharp talons. Sharp enough to cut through flesh and bones, Lamia knew from experience.

Cato stared at her hand. Lamia saw his siblings tense and reach for their weapons, so she stepped back and raised her hands. She concentrated, willing her talons to become nails again. Cato sighed and stared at her. His gaze went to her legs for a moment, no doubt expecting her to grow a tail and attack him. She smiled at him. " I didn't scare you too much, did I? I merely wanted to demonstrate I am Lamia. But i'm not here to do you any harm. Seriously. I promise" she said softly, hoping the calm down the boy.

She turned towards Cato's siblings, who were armed and looked ready to kill her. " I do not intend harm on your brother or you. Please lower your weapons and let me explain. Annabeth can confirm I do not wish you any harm". Next to her, Annabeth nodded enthusiasicly. "She is right! She is not a monster guys, give the woma- Sorry , not woman, but girl. A chance. All right"? The teenagers exchanged looks until one of them, a tall guy with blond hair and another pair of startling grey eyes, nodded and sheated his weapon. He walked towards them until he stood in front of her. His eyes went over her body, as if to inspect she didn't carry any hidden weapons. Which she didn't. He narrowed his eyes at her, his hand still on his weapon. " We will give you a chance, but try to hurt any of my siblings and you will die, I promise you. Understood"? he said in a stern cold voice.

He was clearly trying intimidate Lamia. It might have worked, except Lamia was used to scarier situations than this. A _lot_ scarier. She had seen Hera's wrath, people dying (often by her own hand in the ' good ol times), fought the Ordeen and she had seen the devil , the force of evil, himself. She wasn't easily scared. She wasn't sure she even could feel fear anymore. Well, except when Tom was in danger, then she would feel fear. She would do anything to prevent seeing him die. So, not really impressed, she stepped forward and patted the boy on his cheek. Flashing him a small, motherly smile, she nodded. " Of course boy. I understand. And you might be able to understand I already told you I wouldn't hurt your siblings"? she said, still smiling. She did this just so he would be annoyed, of course. And understand he needed to use another tone.

The boy made a growling sound, on which Lamia raised her eyebrows, and removed her hand from his cheek. " Very well. We have an agreement, then. Shall we shake hands"? Lamia chuckled. She offered him her hand. " Whatever you say, boy". The boy narrowed his eyes. " My name is Jonathan, not boy". Lamia shrugged. " Fine, Jonathan. You can call me-". He snorted and interrupted her. " Let me guess... Lamia"? Lamia sent him a cold glare, causing him to take a few steps back. And causing his siblings to snicker. Not that they came closer. They watched from a distance. With great interest. Lamia folded her arms, giving Jonathan an angry look. From the way he shrunk and looked at the ground, she found it was a lot more intimidating than his look.

She smirked, knowing all too well Jonathan was scared. " Listen, Jonathan. I understand you don't like this situation, and to be honest, neither do I. But we will have to cope with each other, all right? I will be nice to you, you will be nice to me. _That_ is our agreement. Agreed"? Jonathan looked up and nodded. He shook her hand, which she still held close to him, and even smiled. " Agreed". Lamia smiled back. " Good. I'm glad to hear that". She gave him another smile, showing him straight, white teeth. Jonathan released her hand and blushed. Lamia saw it, but didn't say anything. She just turned away from him, to speak to his siblings.

She saw all the other children were staring at her, their mouths open. Cato was staring, too. He looked at her with a mix of wonder, confusion and disbelief. Sort of the same expression a child would have on Christmas Eve. Lamia smiled at him before she turned towards Annabeth. " Care to explain"? she asked her. Annabeth smiled. In the hours they had spent together, they had found they had a lot in common. Lamia believed, they could be friends. Even with the difference in age. " Of course not. My pleasure". She looked at her siblings and straightened a bit. " Ok, this is the deal. Lamia is staying with us. She emerged from nowhere and needs a place to stay. Which will be our cabin. Until we have found out how _exactly_ she came here, we will have a guest in cabin six. Is this clear to everyone"? she asked her siblings, looking at all of them.

The children looked at each other before, after some time and a strong look from Annabeth, they nodded. Lamia let out a small sigh. She _really_ didn't need any more enemies. Even if it were just children. Well, just children. That term didn't really apply to them, Lamia decided. After all, they were the children of Athena. _That really confuses me. A virgin goddes, having children? I had to go through labour and all those months carrying the children. Weird idea to have children formed by thought.. _Lamia pondered.

She looked at Annabeth again, who gave her a quick thumps up, making Lamia smile. She liked the girl and hoped they would become friends. She would make a great ally. She had already noticed the girl was smart, she had expected nothing less from a daughter of Athena, and she assumed she was a good fighter too.

Annabeth focused on her siblings, who still looked uncomfortable. " All right. I will arrange a bed for her, if Chiron didn't already do that, and I will find her some clothes". She turned towards Lamia. " I assume you didn't bring any clothes with you"? When Lamia shook her head, Annabeth shrugged and continued talking. " Didn't think so" she muttered. She went through her hair, her eyes slightly closed. She probably was thinking about a solution. " Anyone any ideas on that one? I assume we can't just go to the Aphrodite cabin, since their clothes aren't really.. well comfortable" Annabeth said, rolling her eyes. Lamia raised her eyebrows at her clear disgust. " Aphrodite? You mean the goddess of love? Her children are here, too"? Annabeth snickered. " Of course. Nothing against her, but she does have a lot of children. Only logical, since she is the goddess of _love_. And lust. And all those things" she said, shrugging.

Lamia bit her lip. " Hmm. I might need a talk with her, then. Asking her why she did all those things to _me_". Annabeth smiled. " Who knows". She turned away from Lamia when one of her brothers raised his hand. " Yes, Dennis? What do you want to say"? The boy, not older than eleven, shifted and looked at his feet. With a sigh, he looked up. " It-ts just, I-" he tried. Annabeth sighed too. " Just say what you want to say, all right"? Dennis nodded, not looking her into her eyes. " It's just, with the war that just happened and all, can we trust her? What if it is a trap"? he said, his voice small. He didn't look at Lamia, probably afraid she would be mad.

The other people nodded, silently agreeing. Lamia didn't blame them. She would be suspicious too. She frowned when she realized something. " War, what war"? she asked. Annabeth shrugged. " There was a war some time ago. The Titan Lord, Kronos, tried to attack Olympus and overthrow the gods. He didn't succeed though. He was defeated and his army too. A lot of demi-gods died. Others betrayed us and helped Kronos. It was terrible". Lamia looked at the girl. Something in Annabeth's face told her, Annabeth didn't tell her everything. But Lamia knew, the war must have been terrible. She walked towards Annabeth, laying an hand on her shoulder to comfort her. " I'm really sorry" she said. Annabeth gave her a small smile. " Thankyou".

Quickly changing the subject, she focused on Dennis once again. Lamia released her hand and took a few steps back, listening. " Listen Dennis, I understand why you are concerned. After all, we have reasons to _believe_, Lamia could set up a trap. But she won't. I talked to Mr.D, he was the one who recognized her, and he didn't say anything". A girl, looking an awful lot like annabeth, shrugged. " She could have fooled him too. Who knows what she is up to". Annabeth sighed. " I honostly don't think so, Sofia. For now, we will just keep an eye on her. Tell me when you notice something. I personally think we can trust her, but we are all right to be careful after all that happened".

When everyone nodded, Annabeth went on. " We will need some clothes and a bed for her. And a weapon would be favorable ". She turned towards Lamia. " Do you know how to use a sword"? Lamia shrugged. " I guess. I haven't fought in a long time though. Really fought, I mean". Annabeth nodded and seemed to think about this little fact. " Just join us during lessons, I will teach you if you want to".

When Lamia nodded, she continued. " So we need a sword, some clothes, maybe some other weapons.. Anyone who volunteers to get this"? A girl, Annabeth called her Vida, raised her hand. She seemed to be a year of 9, maybe ten, and had long, blond hair. And piercing grey eyes of course. When Vida had disappeared, Annabeth continued. " All right, that is settled then. Any more questions? And where is Malcolm"? she asked. " Malcolm is in the infirmary. Charlotte got hurt when she fought with Clarisse. He is in the infirmary to take care of her" someone said. Annabeth nodded. " Vey well. Any questions"? No one said anything, everyone looking really uncomfortable. They were all looking at Lamia, their expression a bit scared.

Annabeth sighed. " Come on, you can just ask questions. Really". " Great, then I have a question" someone behind them said. Annabeth and Lamia turned. Leaning against the wall, smiling evilly, stood Mr.D. He smirked, taking a step forward. Annabeth narrowed her eyes, clenching her fists slightly. " Mr.D. What are _you_ doing here"? she asked him. Mr.D ignored her, his eyes on Lamia. " I have a question. When are you ready to see the gods"? he asked Lamia with that evil smile firmly on his face.

**A few more things, I just re-read the reviews, ; Lamia isn't the daughter of Hecate. Well, not as far as I know. Joseph Delaney never mentioned it, so I will think about it. And Zeus will recognize her because her appearance is the same. And of course, he is a god. He is _supposed_ to know these things. And if he doesn't know, considering he isn't very.. smart ( Zeus, please don't kill me, I'm just trying to be _honest_ for once), Athena would know being the very smart person she is ( Duh, she is the goddess of wisdom). He will know she isn't _his_ Lamia, that she isn't in the right place and everything. **


	6. Spiders and Sins

**Disclaimer; I do not own either the wardstone chronicles or Percy jackson& the Olympians, sonce I'm not Joseph delaney. Or Rick Riordan, for that matter. I'm not even a man, so...**

Lamia's heart stopped beating, her throat felt suddenly very dry and she actually felt like she might faint. She had not felt like this in a very long time. If she already had felt something like it. A mix of immense nervosity, anger and a bit fear. The last time she had felt something similiar to this was when she had discovered she was pregnant. And had to tell Zeus. She had been scared, happy and nervous at the same time. Scared, because she didn't know if he would consider it positive or negative. Happy, because she had been in love and wanted his children. She wanted them like nothing she had wanted before. And nervous, because it would be difficult even if he would be as happy as she had been.

She remembered that day she told him. How she had told him she carried his children. He had looked so happy, so peaceful. She had never felt so much love for someone as she had felt for Zeus at that moment. And she had never felt so much pain when he had betrayed them and their children had died. Their beautiful, innocent, perfect children. _My children. One of the best things that ever happened to me and he distroyed it. Let it be destroyed. Didn't even seem to care. Were we not more than a toy? A pleasant way to pass time? _Lamia thought, anger rising. She almost screamed it. The question that had bothered her all those decades, all this time. _Why_. _Why didn't you help? Why did you let Hera destroy them? Why didn't you care enough to save them? _Why. Why. Why.

Lamia still couldn't understand him. _He might be a god, but that doesn't give him the right to do such things _Lamia thought, not even aware of the throbbing of her skin. Of her nails changing into claws. Of her eyes narrowing. Her blood was running fast, her senses increasing, her anger overwhelming. " Why..." she whispered, but it sounded like an hiss. " Because they want to see you, Lamia" Dionysos responded. She looked at him, at one of _them_. He was still smirking, seeming to enjoy the show.

Lamia looked around and saw the frightened faces of the members of cabin six. She looked down, at her hands which were now claws. She realized she must look like horrible, frightening, her anger had caused her to change into something she wasn't anymore. The monster she had once been.

She willed her body to change back, to become something less frightening. She concentrated until she felt claws change into hands, eyes widening and losing improved sigh, fangs changing into normal teeth again and the start of a snake tail becoming legs again.

She took a deep breath and looked around, at all the Athena campers. Their expresions were all different. Some looked utterly shocked, others scared. Some looked angry, ready to run forward and attempt to kill her. She licked her dry lips, aware of how she must have looked like. " Sorry for that. My emotions got the better of me. It won't happen again, I promise".

Mr.D reacted before anyone else could. He raised his eyebrows, still smirking. " Oh really? Because if I remember correctly, _Lamia_, one of your.. hobbies is killing children. Drinking their blood. You're a monster and can you _ever_ trust a monster"? he purred. Lamia saw some people shifted, looking away from her. Some of the smaller children took a step back. Others, the bigger and stronger ones, took a step forward. Their bodies tense, their hands on their swords. They looked fierce and angry and who could blame them? In the past, she _had_ been a monster. She had killed children and taken countless other lives. She had done things so horrible that she still had nightmares sometimes. She still felt guilty, even if she was a entirely different person back then. A _crazy_ person.

She looked at Dionysos, her eyes narrowing. She didn't like what he had said, even if part of it was true. He had just said it to cause trouble. To challence her.

He was still smirking and that was what made her decide her reaction to his words. Go _To Tartarus with him, right where he belongs_ she thought and grabbed his t-shirt, pulling him closer. "Listen, Mr.D" she said, her voice full of sarcasm and more an hiss than anything else. She saw his eyes widen, fear and suprise in them. She figured he was suprised she dared to touch a god. Except she had met scarier things than him and was absolutely not afraid to touch one. The only thing Lamia was afraid of was losing her children or going back to being a monster. And she wouldn't let that happen. " That was long ago and the reason I became like that was because of your annoying, useless family. True, I have done horrible things. Things I feel horrible about, but the past lies in the past. I can't do anything about them, except trying to do good instead of bad. I'm _not_ a monster and I certainly won't hurt those children" she said, her voice cold even when she was being quite aggresive.

She let Mr.D go, who rubbed his T-shirt absently. He smirked, apparently over his fear/suprise. " I wouldn't touch me, a god, ever again _Lamia_ if you want to live. Isn't that what got you into so much trouble in the first place"? he asked, his eyes going up and down her body. Lamia smiled, but it wasn't a particulary nice smile. It was a very misschievious, close to evil, smile. She tilted her head, seeming to think about his comment. " You mean when I was so stupid, like countless other women no doubt, to touch your _father? _You know, there is a reason I was pregnant so fast. Your _little_ father couldn't keep his hands of me" she said, her voice resting on Dionysos's lap for a second when she said little. She smirked, her eyes now looking into his eyes. " Apparently, you have inherited something from your little daddy. Poor boy. Now you will have to use the same low ways as your father to make up for it" she said, her voice soft and caring while her face was full of contempt and she was still smirking.

She saw Dionysos freeze when he realized what she was implying, but she continued talking before he could say anything. " But no worries, I will never touch you like I did with your dad. To be honest, I would rather be dead than that so you don't have to worry about me touching you. That will _never_ happen" she said, taking a step forward. She patted his cheek affectionetely before she stepped back and smiled. The kind of smile your mother gives you when you have to eat burned brussel-sprouts.

To her great satisfaction, Lamia saw Mr.D was pale and very speechless. He stared at her, suprise in his eyes. And something that looked like embaressment. She heard some campers snicker and saw they looked relaxed now. Some smiled at her and Annabeth gave her a thumb-ups. Mr.D couldn't see it anyway. Not from that angle and not while he was in shock.

He didn't move, just stared at her. She smiled, a sickingly sweet smile this time, and raised her eyebrows. " I am ready. Do I need to meet them now"? Mr.D seemed to recover, his eyes looking at her with annoyance and contempt instead of shock and, she could have sworn, disappointment. Lamia frowned at the possibility Dionysos liked her. Another god. She really didn't want that. _It is unlikely he likes me anyway. Just focus on the meeting _she told herself, still smiling at Dionysos.

He narrowed his eyes, which were glowing a little. Lamia almost rolled her eyes. The I'm-An-Almighty-God thing really didn't impress her anymore. It only annoyed her and brought back bad memories. Memories she was trying to forget and kept coming back lately. Not aware of this, Mr.D took a step towards her , his eyes now glowing purple. " Do not try to embarress me or show such disrespect, _Lamia_. Don't forget what I am. I'm-". " Oh, I won't foget, believe me. Sorry for interrupting, but I have an idea we are in a hurry. Oh, and I don't like purple" she said cheerful. She heard the campers snicker again when Dionysos closed his mouth and stared at her. He looked stunned, unable to say anything. She sighed. " Mr Dionysos, please tell me when I can see them if I need to see them. My time is valueable, and yours is too, no doubt.

Mr.D blinked. Once. Twice. And finally managed to say something. " Yes, Yes. My time is _very_ valuable indeed. The gods can see you in a few hours, get ready" he said, still a stunned look in his eyes. Lamia almost laughed at loud at his expression. A mix of disbelief, suprise and uneaseness. He ressembled a caught boy, caught when he was stealing cookies or who-knows-what, rather than an 'almighty' god. Lamia raised her eyebrows. " Very well. I will. Anything else, Mr.D"? she asked the god who seemed frozen to the spot. Mr.D took a step forward, opening his mouth, but closed it just as fast. He shook his head. " N-no. This is all. We will see you in a few hours, Lamia. A servant will come to get you" he said, speaking rapidly. Lamia nodded. " Thank you. I will be there" she said. Mr.D nodded and tuned to walk away, almost running.

When Lamia was sure he couldn't hear them anymore , she laughed. Annabeth soon folllowed. Soon, everyone was laughing. " Oh g-god, did you see his face" Annabeth managed to say when she stopped laughing for a second. Lamia nodded, laughing really loud. " Y-yes, it was h-hilar-rious! He didn't know what to say. Him, one of those almighty gods" she said, almost rolling on the floor laughing. Annabeth nodded. " Y-yes! I have never seen him like that before, and I have come here for a long t-time. He f-finally stopped being so a-arrogant". Lamia didn't respond, laughing too hard to be able too. She just loved the idea she had finally done something to those gods. Even if it was something this little.

When they all finally stopped laughing, the other children looked at Lamia. They all sat on the ground, in a circle. They looked at her with newfound respect and Lamia felt herself smile, so happy they didn't really see her as a monster.

One of the younger girls, a girl around the age of eight, got up and walked towards Lamia. She had blond hair, which looked like gold and seemed to catch the sun's rays, and big, grey eyes. She tilted her head and smiled at Lamia. " I think you're really funny. And Mr.D is mean" she whispered, like she was sharing a big secret. Lamia smiled, touched when she saw the vulnerbility in the child's eyes. " Thank you. What's your name"? she asked. The little girl smiled. " My name is Tawny" she said, pride evident in her voice. Lamia smiled. " What a beautiful name. Mine is Lamia, but most people call me mrs Ward. Some call me Zenobia" she whispered. Tawny smiled. " Those are beautiful too. What do they mean? Mine means green field, which is weird, but people who are independent and strong leaders are given my name, so my dad decided to give it to me".

Lamia nodded. " I like it. I know Lamia can have the meaning ' glitter' or ' glisten'. And Zenobia, well.. it means life of Zeus. I don't like the meaning, but I like the name" Lamia said softly. Tawny frowned. " Then why do you use it if you don't like it"? she asked, her grey eyes full of curiousity. Lamia shrugged. " It wasn't my original name. That was Lamia, which was an ordinary name in my time. I just have bad memories from it, so I prefer to use Zenobia. That's how some friends call me".

Tawny nodded. " So how old are you? If you are the Lamia, which I have heard vagualy of, you must be really old. Not that I want to be rude, but I'm just curious" she said. Lamia laughed softly. " It doesn't matter, really. Age is something insignificant to me, after all the time I have lived. But I'm approximately 3000 years old" she said.

Tawny stared at her. " That's old! You're almost as old as my mom" she exclaimed. Lamia smiled. " I know. I'm really old" she said.

Tawny crawled against Lamia, looking at her face. Lamia smiled and put an arm around her, enjoying the child's company. She just loved children, they made her so happy. The other children were just watching them, listening to her stories. They seemed relaxed and peaceful, even when their grey eyes stood serious and cautious. Tawny sighed softly. " Do you have any children? You look to young to have any, but if you are actually 3000 years old.." she suddenly said Lamia smiled. " I'm older than I look, so I do. I have seven, all boys. Although they are men now". Tawny frowned. " I expected you to have more, after 3000 years".

Lamia tensed a little. " I did. I had some other children, a really long time ago. But they were killed. And after that, I had triplets, but-". " Triplets"? Annabeth interrupted, frowning. " When did you have triplets"? Lamia shrugged. " A few thousands years ago. I loved them, but.. ". She sighed. " They were another of my mistakes. Their father, chaemog, wasn't exactly the right creature to have children with" she said.

She expected Annabeth to immediately know what she meant, but she still looked puzzled. " Chaemog? Who is that? I have certainly never heard of him before. And why were your children a mistake"? Lamia looked at her, suprised she didn't know. " They were the first Lamia witches" she said. Annabeth only looked more puzzled. " Lamia witches? What are those"? she asked.

Lamia frowned. " You mean, you have never heard of them? They were my children, and children of Chaemog, and they preyed on humans, drinking their blood. I eventually quarelled with them and they didn't want to see me again. I still feel really bad about that. Both losing them and having them in the first place".

Annabeth wanted to say something, but she shut her mouth and looked away. Lamia saw she was blushing. Lamia laughed, even when she felt a little sad now she remembered that particular part of her past. She missed her children, even if they had been evil. Annabeth looked at her again, blushing. She wanted to say something, but hesitated. Lamia shook her head. " Come on , you can say what you want. I won't be mad, I promise". Annabeth bit her lips, still blushing. " I don't know.." she said. " Ah come on Annabeth. Just say it"! some people said. Others nodded. Tawny just smiled and closed her eyes, obviously a little tired.

Annabeth sighed. " All right. It's just.. You know with the snake tail and everything, how could you you know.." she said, her cheeks now really red. Lamia laughed. " No, I don't know. How could I.." ? Annabeth looked away for a second, then muttered something. " Sorry, I didn't hear what you said. Can you repeat it"? she asked. Annabeth took a deep breath. " Have sex" she said, speaking really fast.

Lamia stared at her for a moment, not sure what to say. She took a look at Tawny, who was sleeping. " Oh. _That_. Well, eh Chaemog wasn't exactly what you call human" Lamia said, feeling a bit uncomfortable. All the campers frowned. " What was he, then"? A boy, named Sky, asked. Lamia hesitated. They wouldn't like this. " A spider-like creature. just think of an enormous spider" she said, speaking as fast as Annabeth had done.

All the campers froze for a second, before they jumped and looked at her with horrified faces. " A s-spider"? a girl, Chloe, stammered, her face pale. Lamia nodded. " Yes. I'm not really proud of it, but it happened" she said softly. Everyone was staring at her for a second, their faces pale and showing their disgust. " Poor you" Tori, a girl with black hair around the age of fourteen, eventually said. The others nodded. Annabeth shivered. " I can't imagine doing _that_. Horrible"! she exclaimed. Lamia smiled. " Well, it wasn't much worse than with _him_" she joked, pointing at the sky. Some girls giggled while the boys looked slighly amused.

They all sat down again and continued talking. Lamia didn't talk about chaemog anymore ( Honostly, she didn't want to) and they talked about hobbies instead. Architecture, famous books, things like that.

Just when Theo , one of the older boys, was telling Lamia about Hamlet, a nervous satyr walked inside. " Ehhm.. Hello? I'm here to escort one miss Lamia to Olympus" he said. Lamia got up, making Tawny make a soft sound of protest, and smiled at him. " Hey. That would be me" she said. The satyr stared at her, his nervousness soon replaced by admiration.

He kept staring at her and smiled. " Wow! You are.. you.. Wow"! he said. Lamia raised her eyebrows. " Yeah, I'm very 'wow'. Can we go now"? The satyr nodded. " Of course! Sure! Whatever you say". Lamia shook her head and , after some goodbyes and best wishes, followed the satyr. Ready to face her past.


	7. One-Sided attraction

**I do not own the Wardstone Chronicles. I'm not Joseph Delaney.**

Lamia followed the satyr, who seemed to be unable to take his eyes of her. He had been nervous when he had asked her to come with him , but now he was talking. He was talking without even stopping the breathe, while staring at her like she had grown a second head. And Lamia was pretty sure she hadn't.

Lamia knew the reputation of satyrs and knew he was staring at her because she was pretty. Lamia had no doubts about her being beautiful, especially now she looked young again. One of the reasons she had killed so many men, was because she had used her appearence. To lure them to their deaths.

She remembered their faces, full of admiration and lust, when they had seen her. And fear when they had realized what exactly she was. Lamia sighed when she remembered that part of her past. The time before she had met John, had been dark. She had taken so many lives. Innocent people had died because of her. She couldn't remember all the faces, but their terrified screams seemed to follow her. Even when the past was blurry and it seemed that it was another person than her who had done all those things, she still felt horrible about it. It had been her, after all.

What she had told Tom was true; she had changed. She was another person and had little in common with the monster she once was. But that didn't mean she wasn't guilty. That those memories haunted her and embaressed her. And now she would have to face her past, talk to the persons who had ruined her life. Who had turned her into a monster. _Maybe they won't even recognize me. I'm insignificant to them, after all. Just one of the countless women who was stupid enough to fall in love with the king of gods. _Lamia thought. She sighed again. She knew that wasn't true. After all, Dionysos had recognized her immediately. And Hera would have no trouble recognizing one of her husband misstresses. _Not that I am that. I was, but that was a long time ago. Not that Hera cares about that. Knowing her, she will probably want to punish me again. Like thousands of years living like a monster and the horrible guilt that comes with it, isn't enough. _Lamia thought.

She was really nervous. She couldn't remember the last time she had felt like this. She was so nervous she actually considered running away. _I would run if that would mean I didn't have to see them again. But they will know where I am. No escape. I better- oof! What? _Lamia's thoughts were interrupted when the satyr before her suddenly stopped, causing her to walk against him. She let out a soft sound of suprise.

The satyr immediately turned, looking at her with wide eyes. " Are you all right? I'm sorry" he said. Lamia took a step back and smiled. " I'm fine. It's not like you're made of rock or anything. I just hadn't expected you to stop. That's all. Why did you stop?" Lamia asked.

The satyr smiled at her, looking relieved she wasn't mad. He turned and gestured at a tree. Lamia didn't understand what was so special about it, but then she saw it. There was not one thing, but _two_ things that caught her attention. The first one was a fleece, that was positioned on one of the branches. It was gold and she could feel the magic coming from it. The second thing was a very , very big lizard-like creature. " Great. We have to get past an enormous drakon" Lamia muttered, cursing her rotting luck in her head. The satyr smiled and shook his head. " It won't be a problem. He guards the camp for us. He will just let us past" he said.

Lamia frowned, still looking at the drakon. She didn't really trust it. She turned towards the satyr, who was looking at her with a dreamy expression. " Are you sure"? The satyr nodded. " I'm really sure. You're so beautiful" he said, smiling. Lamia rolled her eyes and snapped her fingers, so she would get the satyr's attention. She didn't like him staring at her like that.

He looked at her, looking nervous again. " What?" he asked. Lamia sighed and motioned towards the drakon. " Are you sure that drakon won't attack us?" she repeated her question. The satyr nodded, running an hand through his hair. " Oh, t-that. Y-yeah, I'm sure" he stammered.

Lamia looked at the drakon another time. He didn't look that ominous from this distance, but Lamia had no illusions what would happen if she got too close. That drakon would attack her and it would be very hard, if not impossible, to survive. Then again, she was very powerful. She hadn't told Tom all her abilities and she could always stop time if that creature got too close. She was just afraid it wouldn't work, here in this strange place. _Well, no use worrying about things that might never happen. _Lamia thought to herself and focused on the satyr again. He was still staring at her, like he had done all this time.

He had tried to start a conversation, but Lamia hadn't really heard what he had said. She had been too nervous to really pay attention to his words. She had been slightly aware he had been staring all the time at her though. She didn't like it, but figured he couldn't help it. She was suprised he dared to, because he knew who she was. For all he know, she still drunk blood. Which she didn't. She had stopped that a long time ago. It wasn't like she _needed_ it. It strengthented her, but it wasn't something she couldn't live without.

Lamia hesitated. What should she do now? She didn't really know where the gods lived and the satyr was still staring at her. He wasn't moving or trying to explain anything. Like where she needed to go. And how she could get there.

She cleared her throat. " So.. thank you for bringing me here. I will just go, then?" she said. She started to walk, imagining she had to go down the hill, but the satyr stopped her. " No! I mean- I need to bring you. I just stopped here, so you could see the hill and the drakon and everything". Lamia raised her eyebrows. " So you stopped here, because there is a great scenery"? she asked him. The satyr swallowed and avoided her eyes for a second, now looking at her legs. After a uncomfortable silence, he looked up. " Uh.. Y-yes"? he stammered.

Lamia stared at him. He looked really nervous. " Why" she asked him. The satyr looked at her. " Why what"? he asked. Lamia sighed. " Why would you stop to show me the scenery? That wasn't what you were told to do, was it?" she asked him. The satyr seemed to shrink under her glance. He shook his head. " No, not exactly. But I thought you might like it. Some time to relax before you have to talk with them. I'm sorry" he said, tears in his eyes.

Lamia smiled. It was actually really sweet of him. Even if he had some ulterior motives. He turned, shoulders hanging, and tried to walk away. Lamia grabbed his wrist and pulled him back. "Don't be sorry, it's really sweet. But next time, you can better just bring me to them, all right"? she said with a smile. The satyr smiled back, his brown eyes sparkling. " Really? That's great, because you're really beautiful and I thought, once this all over, we could do something together. Maybe go for a drink or walk in the forest or-" he said. Lamia raised her hands. " Wait a minute! That's not what I meant. Believe me, the last thing I want is that" she said and immediately regretted it when the satyr's eyes filled with tears again. He looked at the ground, swallowing. " I understand. Someone like you would never like me, of course" he whispered.

Lamia could see tears falling and sighed. " I didn't mean it like that, I-" she tried to say, but the satyr cut her of.. " I understand, really. I mean, you're too beautiful, and after the king of the gods, you will certainly not be satisfied with someone like me" he said, his voice trembling. Lamia sighed. She put a finger under his chin and lifted his head, forcing him to look at her. " No, you don't understand" she said softly. His eyes were filled with tears and his lip was trembling. She brushed his tears away and smiled. " Firstly, what happened between me and Zeus was a big mistake. Secondly, it's not that I don't like you or anything. I was married and my husband died a few years ago. I'm not really ready to start another relationship. And of course, there is the age difference. I'm a lot older than you" she told him.

The satyr smiled. " You don't look old" he said, examining her. The emotion in his eyes while he took in her appearence, was one Lamia was all too familiar with. Lust. He looked at her like he wanted to devour her. Lamia had seen that look often. When she had been queen, some of her visitors had had it. Zeus definetely had had it. John, no matter how kind and patient he had been, had had it. Almost every man Lamia had encountered had looked at her that way. Even the spook had been staring at her, with something that held a ressemblance to that hungry look, when she had left the Ord. She had been young again and for a moment, John gregory had just stared at her. Even he had been impressed when he saw her. And he had guessed she wasn't human. That they were supposed to be enemies. Still, lust had clouded his judgement for a moment. It was so powerful that it had let him forget for a moment. So she knew what she was dealing with. Something really powerful.

She took a step back, not scared but wary, and readied herself. She didn't want to hurt the poor boy. He couldn't help he was feeling that way, after all. But she would if she needed to. She smiled at him, silently hoping he wouldn't do anything stupid. "That's really kind of you to say. Shall we go?" she asked. If she was lucky, he would leave it to that. But she wasn't lucky, because he took a step forward, determination in his eyes. He had a plan, so much was clear. And Lamia was convinced she wouldn't like it.

Lamia wanted to avoid trouble, so she started walking, only to be stopped by his unexpected words. " I'm sorry to hear your husband died" he said softly, his tone mismatching the raw lust in his eyes. Lamia opened her mouth, but couldn't find any words. She felt a lump in her throat at the thought of her husband. She still couldn't understand how it could hurt so much. " Thanks. I know I'm too. " she finally managed, her voice harsh. The satyr smiled. " No need to thank me. It must be horrible to lose someone you love so much" he said.

Lamia didn't even notice he came closer. She was too lost in thoughts about her husband, the all-too-familiar hurt threatening to overwhelm her. Even after two years, it still hurt her. She managed to push back her tears and smiled at the satyr, forgeting his intentions for a moment. And that she needed to focus instead of chat with him. " It certainly was. But you have to go on, don't you think-". Lamia hesitated. " What is your name actually? You haven't told me". The satyr smiled. " I have actually. You just didn't hear me". Lamia was a little embaressed that she hadn't. " My name is Foan" the satyr suddenly said, taking another step towards her. Lamia thought about that. _Foan... _She looked at Foan again. " It suits you" she said.

Foan smiled and suddenly, Lamia realized how close he was. He was so close she could the little green in his eyes. So close she could feel his breath, warm and moist. " I can help you get over the pain, beautiful. Just let me" he whispered, his voice different somehow. Lamia chuckled nervously and shook her head. " No thank you. I'm fine. All I need you to do, is bring me to the gods. Really". Foan smiled. " I don't think you realize what a big help I can be. Just let me" he said, stroking her neck. Lamia pushed his hand away and took a step back. " No. I do not intent do harm you, but I already made it clear I don't want it. So stop touching me or I will have to harm you" she said, trying to sound strict and a little ominous.

Foam stopped for a moment. He seemed to ponder about this. After some time, Lamia just thought he would leave her alone, he come forward again. Apparently, he had decided it would be worth it. " You won't hurt me" he said, coming even closer. Lamia rolled her eyes. " That's to me, not you" she said. Foan chuckled. " Oh, but you don't want to harm me. You just told me. Besides, we could have so much fun together, why would you ruin that by harming me?" he said, taking another step towards him.

Lamia cursed in her mind. _He really isn't thinking anymore. The kind, shy person is gone. Reasoning won't help, so I have to hurt him_ she thought when she took a look at him. She knew she was was right; the kind, shy person was gone. Foan's eyes were filled with lust and if Lamia was right, he wasn't really thinking anymore. She sighed. " I'm sorry" she said.

Foan was really close by now, only a few more metres and he could kiss her, but before he could do so Lamia used her magic. She summoned some plants from the soil, which wrapped around him. In no time, until he was trapped. The next moment, she concentrated on the vapor in the air and made water in her hand. She walked towards Foan, who was struggling and looked more like a beast than something else, and threw it in his face. It immediately worked; his eyes brightened, the lust disappearing or at least lessening.

She smiled at him. " Better?" she asked. Foan looked around in confusion. When he looked at her, he let out a little cry. " I- I'm so sorry. I-I didn't- I mean" he tried, blushing. Lamia smiled and let the plants disappear. Foan fell to the ground, whimpering. He seemed really embaressed and guilty. He looked at her, his brown eyes pleading. " I'm so sorry. It's just, you're so pretty and-". Lamia shrugged. " It doesn't matter. Let's just forget it and go to the gods, all right" she said, offering him her hand to help him get up.

Foan took it with a relieved expression. " Sure. Thank you, you aren't mad and- I will bring you. Yeah. Follow me". He got up and started walking. Lamia followed him. He wasn't talking that much anymore, probably still embaressed, but Lamia didn't mind. She had enough to look at. Especially when they stopped in front of a yellow vehicle. It had four wheels, made of something black, and a big sign with taxi on it. She blinked a few times. " What exactly is this?" she asked Foan. Foan smiled. " It's a taxi. It will bring us to the Empire State building, the home of the gods". Lamia nodded. " Annabeth said something about it. Something about a.. elevator? I don't even know what it is, but it is supposed to bring you to the gods".

Foan nodded. " Yeah. Mortals, well most of them, don't know the gods are still here, so only demi-gods and some others come there". Lamia stared at the so-called taxi. " Aha. I see. So this.. taxi.. will bring us there?" Foan nodded. " Yep". He opened the door and made a small curtsy. " Step in, my fair lady" he said. Lamia raised her eyebrows. " My fair lady?". Foan looked at her, blushing. " Attempt at humor. Please step in".

Lamia understood he was still nervous and embaressed, so she didn't say anything. She got in and looked around. She was really suprised when she saw the inside. There were chairs, or things that looked like it, and at the front there was a wheel. _Why is there a wheel? where do you need it for? _Lamia pondered. She really didn't comprehend why she was in this taxi-thing. Suddenly, a door opened and Foan came inside.

Foan sat down next to her and smiled sheepishly. She smiled back. In the past hours, she actually started to like him. As a friend, of course. She wasn't even mad he had planned to kiss , and who-knows-what, her. He seemed to relax a little when he saw her smile. " So now what? We're just going to sit here and end up before the god somehow? I- AAAAAAAAAAAA" her nervous babbling changed into a suprised scream when the taxi suddenly started moving.

They moved really fast and Lamia didn't see any horses or something. She turned to Foan. " WHY ON EARTH ARE WE MOVING? IS IT SUPPOSED TO MOVE"? she screamed, her eyes wide. She wasn't the person to panic easily, but this freaked her out. Foan smiled. " It is. Calm down, it's perfectly safe". Lamia looked at him, convinced he was crazy. " No, it's not safe! This _thing_ is moving and we have absolutely no control of it" she said, not screaming anymore but still a little panicked. " The drives has" Foan said calmly, pointing to some man behind the wheel.

Lamia gaped at him. She hadn't noticed the man man turned his head slightly. " Everything all right, miss?" Lamia nodded. " Sure" she said, leaning back and relaxing a little. Someone knew how to control this thing. She wasn't in danger. Her enemies had nothing to do with this. _It is very unlikely they have managed to follow me anyway. Which doesn't mean I'm safe. Any place with the gods alive, is highly dangerous. Especially for me. _Lamia thought.

She sighed and looked out of the window, deciding to enjoy this ride. She saw the man glancing at her, and sighed. _Not again.. Why did people ever say beauty was a good thing? _Lamia thought, annoyed. She really didn't need more of that. She ignored the driver and looked out of the window, taking in all the new sights. She saw so many unknown things. Building reaching the sky, other vehicles that looked like the taxi, people with little, square things they were talking at ( Lamia started to suspect, those people were crazy) and so much more. She tried to take everything in, stunned by all the new things she saw.

She hadn't even realized they had stopped until the drived turned and spoke to her. " Excuse me"? she said. The man smiled at her. " Your destination, miss". He gestured at something outside. She couldn't rememember she had told him their destination, so she figured Foan had done so. He was alredy outside, waiting for her. She opened the door, ready to get out, when tha man called her. She looked at him. " Is there anything wrong?" she asked him. The man shook his head, smiling at her. She guessed he was 28, maybe 29. He had black hair and green eyes and was quite handsome, she saw. Not that she was really interested, she just noticed it.

The man smiled and gave her a piece of paper. " My number. If you ever want a date, just call me" he said, winking at her. Lamia had no idea where he was talking about, but decided it was best to just get out. She smiled at him. " Sure. I have to go now. Bye". Hastily, she got out and closed the door. She walked towards Foan and smiled at him. " Hello. Have you any idea what this is"? she asked him, showing him the paper. Foan turned to look at it and shrugged. " It's a phone number". Lamia frowned. " What is that? I have never heard of it". Foan smiled at her. " There are these devices, called cellphones, and you can use them to contact someone. They all have their own number and he gave you his, so you could contact him". Lamia nodded. " I understand. Do those phones use magic?". Foan snorted. " No. They are invented by some human. I don't know exactly how they work, but there is no magic involved" he explained.

Lamia shrugged and put the paper in her pocket. She didn't just want to throw it on the ground, but had no intention to 'call' that man either. She turned and immediately froze. She hadn't realized where Foan was looking at. It was an immense building, unlike anything Lamia had seen before. She didn't know what to say. Foan smiled. " Welcome to the Empire State building, new home of the gods" he said.

Lamia snickered. " They live here?". Foan nodded and started walking. " Yes. Well, not exactly _here_. They live sort of above it, but mortals can't see it. We will have to take the elevator to reach it. You will see" he said. Lamia didn't respond; she was too busy with staring at her surrounding. Foan walked inside, looking for something.

He walked towards a man and talked with him. Soon, he was back. " Got it. Let's go" he said to Lamia. Lamia looked at him, startled. " Got what. Go where?" she asked Foan, following him. " The key. Olympus" foan responded. They stood for two doors. Foan gestured at them. " The elevator" he explained, walking inside when the doors opened. Lamia followed him and inspected the 'elevator'. " It looks like a little room with no furniture to me. How will it brings us to Olympus?" she asked. Foan smiled. " Just wait".

Before Lamia could ask what he meant, she felt the elevator move. She realized it was rising. It wasn't as bad as the taxi, but Lamia didn't like it. She had no idea how it worked and if it was safe.

In a few minutes, they had reached Olympus and the doors opened. Lamia stepped outside and was again flabbergasted. Olympus was really beautiful. She saw the golden buildings, the flowers and the beautiful statues. " It's beautiful.." she whispered. Foan stood next to her, nodding. " It certainly is" he spoke softly.

After some time, Foan sighed and looked at her. " We better go. The gods are waiting and they don't like that". Lamia nodded and followed him when he started to walk, but didn't say anything. She was too busy with the surrounding. _So beautiful.. It's not fair they get to live here. _Lamia thought. She felt actually jealous. It must be amazing to live here. _Well, I suppose , after some centuries, it does get boring. If you see this everyday, it will be normal eventually. _Lamia thought to herself.

They walked through gardens and along beautiful houses until they reached a massive throne room. Lamia counted fourteen seats, all occupied. And she recognized the bearded man in the centre all too well. " Zeus" she said, clencing her fists.


	8. The meeting

**I don't own the Wardstone chronicles or Percy Jacksin& the Olympians. Hope you enjoy!**

Lamia stared at Zeus, memories flooding her mind. The rest of the world seemed to disappear, leaving the two of them alone. She remembered everything. It was almost like she was back in that room, when they met for the first time. When they made love for the first time. It had certainly felt like love to her. She had been head over heels in love in no time.

By the time they had met for the third time, she belonged to him. It had been a new experience, frightening and wonderful at the same time. It hadn't just been the sex, which had felt really good. She had lied about that. With all his experience, it had felt amazing. She had been a virgin at the time, but when he took her virginity, he had been so careful and tender , it hadn't hurt that much. They both had been insatiable, making love that entire night. Every time they had been together, Lamia had felt incredibly happy. And she had mistaken it for love. Maybe because sleeping with her wasn't the only thing he did. He had taken her on dates, shown her incredible things. Made dinner for her, and feeded her. Laughed with her and given her presents. There had even been a time he had written a song and sung it for her. She remembered how she had flung at him, kissing him until they were both breathless. They had been at a lawn and had made love at the grass.

Lamia closed her eyes for a second when the rest of her memories flew through her. When she had discovered she was pregnant. The fear of rejection. And the happiness of becoming a mother, of having something of her own. How he had been happy too, laughing and hugging her. How she had seen the happiness in his eyes and believed she had found true love. One afternoon, all had been perfect. She had expected him the next morning, and he been there. But he had told her he couldn't see her for some time. She had practically begged him to stay, fearing it would be the last time she saw him, and he had done that. Stayed for one last, magical night. And never came back. Not even when she was crying, forced to watch Hera's rage. She had tried to stop Hera, but she hadn't been able to. Not alone. She opened her eyes and looked at him. The man she had believed was her true love and had broken her. Not just her heart, but her entire person.

She swallowed. " Why?" she asked him, looking into his eyes. She knew what she asked him. Why he hadn't helped. Not for her, but for their children. And he knew too. She even thought she saw regret in his eyes. Her eyes drifted to the person next to him. A person who was embedded into Lamia's brain. " Hera" she hissed, rage overwhelming her. Hera smiled coldly. " Lamia. How.. great to see you're well. And young again" Hera said, her perfect face ruined by an evil smirk.

Lamia narrowed her eyes, determined not to lose control. Or show too muich anger. Be cold and restrained, like Hera. She took a deep breath, relaxing a little. When she relaxed her hands, so they were no longer fists, she realized her nails had changed into talons and she had placed them so deep into her own flesh she was bleeding. She ignored the pain and blood and smiled at Hera. Not exactly a friendly smile, but a smile nonetheless. " Hera. Great to see you to. I hope everything is going well? No more problems with your husband?" she asked, her eyes drifting to Zeus for a moment.

Hera smiled, but her eyes revealed her true emotions. Anger, hate and.. jealousy? Lamia smirked. She could use that against Hera if she ever needed to. Not that she planned to, because it would mean she would have to seduce Zeus. Lamia didn't doubt she would be able to, but she wanted nothing to do with Zeus. Her love had quickly changed into hate when she realized he had let her down and allowed their children to be killed. If he would ever approach her again, her only reaction would be anger. And she would _never_ approach him herself. But she had no trouble with letting Hera believe she would, if that hurt Hera.

Hera clenched her fist, but didn't show any other sign of her anger. " We're doing rather well, thank you". Lamia took a step forward, nodding. " No need to kill any more innocent children?'. Hera smirked. " No, that was always your job, I recall. And not just innocent children. A lot of innocent men, too".

Lamia smiled, even when she felt the urge to ran forward and strangle Hera. The last time she had tried that, Hera hadn't been affected. The only thing she had done when Lamia tried to save her children was smirk. And enjoy her pain and cries for help. " He won't come. Give up, little slut" she had whispered, a crazy look in her eyes. And Lamia knew everything about crazy. Hera looked pretty crazy at this moment, with that look in her eyes. The same look Lamia had seen when she killed them.

Lamia took a deep breath, keeping herself from strangling the ' queen of gods'. " I did, for decades. And why again? Oh , wait I remember. Some heartless, hypocrite bitch killed my children in front of my eyes". Hera narrowed her eyes, her nails digging in the arms of her chair. " Oh really? I would stop the insults Lamia, unless you want me to think of a fitting punishment". Lamia smiled. " But it wasn't an insult. It was just the truth. Do you have anything against the truth, queen Hera. Like the truth you aren't pretty enough to keep your husband from searching pleasure elsewhere?".

Lamia knew she went too far, but she couldn't stop the words from leaving her mouth. She might not attack Hera physically, but she did emotionally. She wanted her to feel pain, just like she had felt. Or at least be embaressed. Hera got up. " You little.. " she hissed. Her eyes were glowing , her form trembling when she got ready to pulverize Lamia. Lamia didn't even blink. " Ooooh, scary. Serious Hera, I'm disappointed. I thought you would come up with something better. After decades of madness and the guilt that followed, this is more a treat than a threat" she said, smiling.

Hera's expression was one of hate now, her form and body trembling with rage. Lamia opened her mouth, ready to make the situation even worse no doubt , when she felt an hand on her shoulder. She spinned to face the person who was touching her. She immediately recognized the person who was smiling at her, empathy in her normally cold and calculating eyes. " It's not wise to continue this Lamia. Don't think about the pain. Listen to your brain instead of heart, otherwise this will end very bad. I know you're a smart woman and you're better than this" she told Lamia.

Lamia stared at the pair of stormy grey eyes. " You're right, like always, Athena" she said. Athena nodded, taking her hand of Lamia's arm. Lamia took a deep breath, calming herself, and faced the other gods. She looked at Hera, who was calmed down by Zeus, who lay his hand on her arm. " I shouldn't have said that. It was wrong to say, even if it is how I feel. But it would also be wrong of you to kill me in your rage, queen Hera. Like you all know, we are in a very complicated situation".

Athena, still next to her, nodded. She gave Lamia a quick smile, as to compliment her, before she spoke. " Lamia meticulous. This situation is very convoluted and we need to be vigilant if we-". " Yo Athena! Speak English, will you. I can't understand a word of what you're saying" Ares yelled, looking annoyed. Athena sighed. " Stop using the word yo Ares ,it's not proper English". " At least people know what I mean when I talk" Ares retorded. Athena raised her eyebrows. " Maybe delinguents know what you mean, but developed people won't understand poor replacement of English" Athena said, sending him a look filled with contempt. Ares got up, always ready to fight, only to be stopped by Zeus who send him a warning look. " The old man never let me do anything" Lamia heard him say. She almost smiled when she heard him call Zeus an old man, but she managed to keep a blank expression.

Zeus cleared his throat. " I don't agree with Ares, but it would be easier if you used another vocubulary Athena, so we can all understand what you are saying". Athena sighed. " All right father, if you wish me to do so". Zeus nodded. " I would appreciate that". Lamia saw he was looking her way, taking in her appearance. She hadn't really focused on him, but she almost groaned when she saw his look. He looked fascinated, but the emotion that struck her most was the raw lust in her eyes. She had seen that look the first time, and all the times after, when they met and it hadn't changed much. Except he looked even more determined and eager.

She cursed in her mind. _Just my luck. The man that ruined my life with his desires and used me, wants me again. I had expected him to have enough of me by now _she thought. _**Try to avoid trepidation Lamia, I will help you **_Lamia suddenly heard in her head. She looked at Athena, who was talking in her head. _Thank you, but I don't get why you are helping me. As goddess of wisdom, don't you think I'm asinine and don't deserve any help? _Lamia send back. One of her abilities was telepathy. Athena didn't move, but did send her another message. **Perhaps, but all people make aberrations. And I believe you deserve a second chance. You can't help it you fell in love. **

Lamia smiled a little. She was really glad Athena was at her side. She hesitated, but send another message. _I have met your children. They are tremendous. You must be very proud. _**I am. You must have been suprised when you found out I had any children. **Lamia almost laughed, but stopped herself. The other gods didn't know what Athena and she were doing and she had every intention to keep it that way. _I was. For a moment, I even believed you had broken your vow, but I know you would never do that, so I wondered how that had happened. _

Lamia had been really suprised. She knew how Athena had been born, of course. But Zeus did have sex before that occasion. After all, Athena had been borned when Zeus had swallowed her pregnant mother. _I'm still suprised Athena isn't mad at her father for swallowing her mother. _**Anger would only destroy things **Athena said. Lamia frowned; she hadn't realized Athena could read her thought, not just the messages she sent her. _I didn't mean to offend you or anything, I just wondered why you weren't mad. I would be. _**You are a very loyal person. And I'm not mad, because it wouldn't be wise. Besides, my anger wouldn't change the situation. **_That's true. Would you have been a different person if Zeus hadn't swallowed her? _

She heard Athena laugh softly in her head, which kind of hurt. **I don't presume that. It's unlikely, but it is possible. But why would I waste time pondering about something that will never happen? **Lamia smiled. _You wouldn't. You're too smart to do so. Still, I can't help, but ponder about that kind of things. _**It can be useful to ponder about things that might never happen, so you will be prepared when they happen, but you shouldn't ponder about the past. **_I wish I was able to. The past is engraved in my mind, bothering me. Especially now I see your father again. _**I understand. I suppose you have a lot of bad memories? **_I have and they are threatening to make me forget the good ones. When I stopped being a monster, I have gathered a lot of good memories. And I also have some good memories from my time with your father, but I really don't want to think about those. _**Please don't. I see pieces of them and I am opposed to giving in to those desires. I don't really mind my father doing it, but he shouldn't cheat. **

_That's the understatement of the year. It brought me a lot of grief and I can imagine it didn't bring him only happiness. _**It didn't. Hera was furious when she discovered he had cheated again. He really should stop it and I keep telling him that, but he simply isn't able to stop. Every time he sees a beautiful woman, he forgets my advise and cheats again. **_ That's a big problem. He really needs help to stop it. It's just wrong. He hurts all the women he sleeps with, including his own wife. _**True. I always wondered.. How long have you known? **_Known what? _**His identity and that he was married. **_Oh. That. Well, at first I didn't know. When I met him for the first time, he was just an handsome stranger. He told me his name was Jupiter. He told me his true identity when I saw him for the third time. Well, I believe it was the third time. _

**You should have stopped it. **_I couldn't. I was in love. Logic didn't exist anymore. _**That is horrible, because logic would have saved you. **_Maybe I didn't want to be saved. I didn't want to lose him. _**Still, meeting him was a grave mistake. **_I know, but I didn't want to see it. I was foolish. Love does that to you. It makes you forget all your values and makes your common sense disappear. _**Being the goddess of wisdom, that is impossible for me. **_I hope it. It isn't really pleasant, if you look at the consequences. And is it really impossible? _**It is. Common sense is part of my entire being. **_Hmm. So you have never been in love? _**No, not really. I felt something for the fathers of my children, but I'm not entirely convinced you can call it love. Aphrodite keeps trying though. **

_I have a feeling she plays a part in my love life. Don't like it. Remind me I have to talk to her. _**I strongly advise you not to. Before you know it, she makes you fall in love with dad again. **_I won't let that happen. Whatever it was between me and your dad, it is over. _**He doesn't think so. Judging from the look in his eyes, he wants you. **

_For the goddess of wisdom, you know a lot about lust. _**Because I'm the goddess of wisdom, I know. Part of my job is knowing. Even if it is something I have nothing to do with. **_Hmm. I just hope he will leave me alone. _**Don't count on it. He is very stubborn. When he wants something, he has to have it. **_Believe me, I know. Not that he had to try hard to get me, I melted in his arms. _**I really didn't want to know that. **

_My apologies. I understand you don't want to know. If I was in your position, I didn't want to know either. Funny though. The goddess of wisdom, of knowledge, doesn't want to know something. _**I rather leave those things to Aphrodite. **_Roger that. _**Roger that? **_It appeared in my mind. I don't even know what it means. This time is doing strange things to me. _**Tell me about it. It is imperative we gather as much information as possible. **_There is not much to tell. My vocubulary is changing, I'm a little dizzy and I feel weird. _**Weird? Define weird and- Shoot, my father looks impatient. We have to stop this conversation before my siblings notice something. They might be obtuse, but even they will notice. I will talk to you later, all right? **_Sure. _

Lamia looked at Zeus from under her eyelashes. He looked suspicious, staring at the two of them. He seemed to relax when Athena smiled at him. Now only Hera was looking a bit suspicious. But she looked mainly angry. The other gods didn't look particulary interested. Lamia didn't even know what to think of them.

She looked at the different thrones. She saw some of the gods were glancing at her. Dionysos was. He looked annoyed, but also intigued. Lamia just hoped he wouldn't try anything. She really didn't want another god courting her.

She looked at the rest of the gods. Poseidon looked at her with interest, taking in her appearance. She saw apprecation in his eyes. He didn't seem like the kind of person to force any woman, so she wasn't too worried. Ares looked at Aphrodite, his mistress she knew. Lamia didn't really like Aphrodite, considering her past love life and the fact Aphrodite cheated. She saw Aphrodite look at her, a smirk on her face. _She has some little plan again. I just know. And I'm not going to like it. _

Lamia sighed. She couldn't do anything about it. At least, not now. She would ask Athena to help her. She knew Athena wasn't a fan of Aphrodite either.

She decided to ignore Aphrodite for now and looked at the next god. Demeter. Demeter was just listening to Athena, seeming only vagualy interested. She muttered something about cereal. _I wonder what cereal is. _Lamia hesitated. She was curious. _Should I ask? Maybe she will be mad I dare to send her a message. _But Demeter had never shown any hostility towards her, so Lamia decided to take the risk. _What is cereal? _she asked Demeter before she could change her mind.

She saw Demeter's eyes widen and she looked around until she focused on Lamia. Lamia smiled. _It's me, Lamia. I heard you say something about cereal and I just wondered.. what is it? All the new things in this age fascinate me. _Lamia saw Demeter's eyes lit up. She smiled. **It is food and it tastes great. Want to try it? **_Of course. As long as it isn't poisonous, of course. Or only for gods. _Demeter smiled. **It isn't. A lot of humans eat it. I'm the only god who enjoys it, actually. The others prefer ambrosia and nectar. The spoiled brats. **_Well, I would love to try it. _**Great! I will give you some later. We might chat a little. Hades and Persephone will be on Olympus for a few days, so I will be here too. **_Great, thank you. _**No need to thank me. I hope you will like it, just like me. We should focus on Athena now. **_You're right. Just remind me later we agreed to this. _**I will. **

Now her chat with Demeter was over, Lamia looked at the other gods. The next one was Hades, who looked annoyed. He raised his eyebrows when she saw he looked at her. Lamia blushed a little, immediately feeling embaressed. She looked away from him, but could still feel his gaze on her. She dared to look at him after some uncomfortable seconds. He was studying her, a small smile on his face.

Lamia decided to ignore him, knowing all too well why he was looking like that. She knew she was beautiful, and on moments like this she hated it.

She focused on the next god. Hephaestus, Lamia knew. He wasn't hansome, like the rest of the gods. But she had seen some of the things he made and knew how talented he was. He was one of the gods she actually liked. He was fuddling with something while listening to Athena, probably making another masterpiece.

When he noticed she was looking at him, he sent her a smile. She smiled back, looking at the object in his hands. _New invention? _she asked. **Just something little. I didn't even notice I was making it. **_Knowing you, it will be a masterpiece nonetheless. You're really talented. _

**Thank you. Most people ignore me, because of my appearence. **_It would be weird if I did that. I wasn't really beautiful during the time I was Lamia. _**You're still Lamia and really beautiful. I get why Zeus fell for you. **_I always hoped it had something to do with my brains, but I know it was because of my beauty. _**There is nothing wrong with your brains, but he always falls for beautiful women. **_I know. Sweet you don't judge me though. _**Why would I? I know how my wife is. She loves playing with people's hearts. **

_Well, tell her to keep her hands of mine. I really don't need that again. _**I will. You know if you really like my inventions, why don't you visit me? I can show you some things. **_Really? That would be great, but won't you mind. I thought you didn't like people that much. _**I like you. Come to my workshop if you're interested. **_I will. I would love to see your inventions. _**Great. And don't worry , I'm not like Zeus. I will leave you alone. **_I appreciate that. Bye! _Lamia smiled. She really liked Hephaestus. She imagined they could be friends.

**I know it's a weird moment to stop the story, but I just don't have the inspiration to continue writing. Maybe after some reviews. Any ideas how to continue this? **


	9. Memories, Bad and Good

**All right, I'm going to continue this. Finally;p I have some inspiration, so yeah. I don't own the Wardstone Chronicles or Percy Jackson& the Olypmians. Joseph Delaney and Rick Riordan do.**

Lamia looked at the other gods, not really paying a lot of attention to Athena's speech. She saw Artemis and Apollo, the twins. She remembered vagualy they had been fightning a lot. Not that she had often seen them. Only once actually. But Zeus had told her stories about his family when she had known his real identity. She knew a lot about all of the gods.

Artemis was , just like Athena, a maiden. She was worse than Athena, because she didn't tolerate men at all while Athena was just not interested in a physique relationship. The only one she was interested in was a relationship based on intelligence. So more a friendship really. Artemis didn't like men at all. She was convinced they were all the same; mean, arrogant, selfish, stupid and useless. Lamia remembered all the stories Zeus had told her about Artemis. How she had been as a young girl and the pranks she and Apollo had pulled. She had always been the serious one, but she did have a sense of humor. She just didn't show it often.

Lamia had a vague feeling Artemis wouldn't be so nice to her though. Lamia thought they could have been friends, weren't it for the fact she had slept with Zeus. Lamia hesitated. She could try to talk with Artemis, she needed allies. And maybe she could convince Artemis she had changed. Which she had. She would love it to have some friends.

She saw Artemis looked at her and frown. Hesitantly, she raised her hand as greeting. Artemis kept frowning. She didn't look mad or anything, but she didn't look glad or friendly either. She looked at Lamia like she didn't know what to think. Lamia was actually glad, because that meant she still had a chance to convince Artemis she had changed. Well, not that she suddenly hated men or anything, but she did have enough of them. She had loved John and now he was dead, she didn't need any other man. No one would even come close. Not even Zeus Lamia thought. **I hadn't expected that Lamia, you suprise me **Lamia suddenly heard.

She sighed. _Artemis, I reckon? _**Yes, it's me. Are you serious? You're really not interested in my father anymore? **_Are you serious? How could I be. Not to offend you or anything, but after all he did to me, if I have any feelings for him left, it's hate. _**Mmm. None taken. But I have to admit, I hadn't expected that. **_Let me guess, you expected me to offer myself to your father as soon as I would find out he was still alive and interested? _**Well, you can't blame me. It happened before. **_Yeah well, that was a mistake. I'm ashamed to confess, but I was lonely and sad and your father.. well he was just really charming. _

She heard Artemis snicker. **He can be like that if he wants to. I have seen it before. But why did you fall for that? **_I don't really know. I was just young and foolish I guess. I mistook lust for love. _**Still, you shouldn't have trusted him. Men only get in the way. They are pigs. **_You think that about your father too? _**He isn't much different. I suppose if he wasn't my father, I wouldn't like him. **

_Hmm. Smart. It could make the difference between happiness and your life ruined. _**Well, you shouldn't have said yes to him. **_I couldn't really say no either and I don't really feel comfortable discussing this. _**I'm just trying to decide what to think of you. And if I should be on your side or not. **_I would be really glad if you were on my side, but I understand if you aren't. I have made a lot of mistake. _**That's right, but everyone makes mistakes and you seem nice enough. It would be good if I had you as a friend. It's just after what happened between you and my father and the men you undoubtly had after him, I am unsure if it is a good choice to take your side.**

_I understand, I really do. If it helps, I only had two.. lovers after your father. And one of them didn't really count, considering he wasn't exactly.. well.. just leave it there. And the second, I married him and loved him. _**Why would that help? **_At least you now know I haven't had that many men in my long life. I'm not addicted or anything. _**Mmm. So you could do without them? **_I think so. I actually already planned to, because I just am done with it. My husband just died and the only man I would want is him. _

**All right then. I have an idea. If you just keeps away from men, I will forget your past and we could be friends. **_That sounds great, but could you be more specific? If you say I should keep away from men, you mean I can't talk to them or see them or- _**I mean you can't start a relationship or something else than friendship. **_I have no problems with that. _

**Great. That means we have a deal. And we really should stop this conversation, because Athena is giving us the evil eye. She really hates it when people don't listen to her. **_All right. Will we talk later? _**Sure. One more thing though. Watch out for my brothers, uncle and Zeus. **_I will. Thank you. _

Lamia felt Artemis leave her head, which was sort of a relief. She didn't like someone being able to read her thoughts and see all her memories. She didn't like her memories. Well most of it. Some of them were good, like the ones with John it.

Lamia smiled when she thought about him. About his kindness, about his courage. He had believed in her when she didn't in herself anymore. He had saved her. She closed her eyes for a second, memories flowing back to her.

{ Flashback}

Lamia struggled against the silver chains that kept her to the rock, but it didn't help. She was trapped and she knew it. She could eventually get free, but that would be to late. The dreaded sun would be there to destroy her with his rays. She didn't pay a lot of attention to the pain the silver caused her. Soon, there would be a lot more pain.

Lamia struggled again, trying deperately to get free. She cursed herself for being so foolish. Her enemies had seized her and she had been stupid enough to give them the opportunity to do so. _No use cursing myself. First, I have to get free. So I can kill them all and have them beg for mercy and forgiveness, which they will never get. _Lamia thought to herself.

She struggled again and ignored the pain her movements caused her. She sighed. _I will never get free by myself. I will need help, eventhough I hate the idea. And who is near anyway? _

She knew there was a creat chance it was futile, but she couldn;t help it. She screamed for help, scared of those rays that would soon destroy her. It was one of the only things she feared and dawn came closer with each passing minute, she just knew. So she screamed and screamed, desperate.

After a long time, she gave up, hanging her head in defeat. She knew it would be too late. She could almost _feel _the sun rising. Soon, it would be all over.

Lamia grunted. She knew it was futile, but she had never been one to choose defeat. She started screaming again, even if it hurt her throat badly. Just when she thought it was too late, she could hear someone coming. " Hello? Who is there? Anyone here?". She didn't understand the words, it was certainly not Greek, but that didn't matter anymore. If that person would come closer, she could be saved. " Help!" she screamed again.

To her relief, she heard the footsteps coming closer. It sounded like the person was now running instead of just walking, still sometimes yelling something. She still couldn't understand the words of the foreign language, but she could understand the message behind it. Help was finally approaching.

A few minutes later, she saw the head and shoulders of a man appear. He had broad shoulders, brown hair and beautiful green eyes. His brown hair was quite long and he had stubble. He looked sort of tough, but Lamia didn't feel any fear or even uneasiness. She saw he was still young, especially if you compared him to her, and judging from the way he looked, he was a sailor.

" Help!" she yelled again. When he saw her, his eyes widened. She saw his eyes go over her body for a second and a look of admiration and lust was in his eyes for a moment. Then he seemed to notice she was bound and ran towards her. " What happened?" he asked.

Lamia didn't know what he was saying. She tried to explain they had to get away from here, but he didn't understand. He just tried talking to her, but all she wanted was to get free. She knew the sun could rise any moment now. When he had arrived, it had been just on time.

Just when he , finally, started to try to get her free, the sun rose. Lamia screamed in terror and pain when the rays touched her naked skin and she could feel herself burn. The sun was always dangerous to her, especially here, where it was so strong.

She saw the man's eyes widen and he said something. She suspected it was a curse, but didn't say anything, too occupied with the pain. She did notice , however, when the man started to undress.

If Lamia hadn't been in so much pain, she would probably have been really mad. In her current state, she suspected the man wanted something. She was naked, after all. And didn't all men take opportuneties when they saw them? She was too hurt and desperate to react to the man, but she soon found out he wasn't trying anything funny. He used his shirt to cover her and when he noticed it wasn't enough, he took off his pants and used them too. His last measurement was shielding her from the sun with his body.

Lamia was suprised; she hadn't expected him to be so nice. Especially since she was bound with silver. And everyone knew they used silver to bind witches.

If she had to be honest, she had expected him to use her instead of help her. Especially because she was already naked. But he didn't. He just stood there, stubbornly protecting her against the sun.

After hours, the sun finally started to sink and Lamia let out a sigh of relief. She was safe again. Thanks to this strange man. He turned around and she was mortified when she saw what the sun had done to him. He was burnt, not as badly as she would have been, but it must hurt a lot. But he didn't say anything about it.

He just kneeled down and spoke softly. She understood he was trying to assure her everything was going to be fine. She almost laughed at loud at that; her life would never be anything but terror. She was the Lamia after all. But she didn't bother telling him, knowing he wouldn't understand anyway.

She looked at him, studied him, for the first time in those past hours. She noticed he was handsome, muscular and tall with good features. He wasn't the most handsome man she had ever seen, but he did look good.

She frowned when she saw his skin, which was red and looked very painful. He hesitated a minute, then took away his clothes, blushing. She almost smiled at this. He had just seen her almost dissolve because of the sun and had spent the next hours shielding her in his underwear, but he was still shy. She assumed he only had experience with a certain type of women and that he had drunk a lot by the time he shifted from alcohol to women. But she didn't say anything.

He looked at his clothes, unsure what to do. Probably because it would hurt even more if he put his clothes back on. With a sigh, he put the clothes on the ground and looked at the chain. He started unbounding her, wasting no time with questions she wouldn't even understand. She didn't know his language and he didn't know hers, so they couldn't really talk.

He worked fast, but it still took a long time. The chain wasn't easy to break, but he managed. He did look a few times at her during his attempts at freeing her, but she noticed he tried to avoid it. _Huh. I wonder why. Does he had a wife or something? _Lamia couldn't imagine people just being polite. To be honest, she couldn't imagine a man being faithful anymore. She had lost faith in men.

But when she saw the expression in his eyes when he saw the pin in her hand, she understood she was wrong about this man. He was different, in a good way. He was kind and caring. She saw the blind rage in his eyes when he noticed the pin through her hand. He touched it, but his expression told her he didn't dare to remove it.

Lamia smiled at him and tore her hand free. He looked very shocked, but before either he or Lamia could say or think anything, she stepped forward and kissed him. She didn't know why, but she knew it was right. The kiss was tender and still passionate somehow. She relished the feelings that came with it. Eager, she pushed her tongue in his mouth and engaged his tongue in a wild dance.

When they pulled apart, she saw his pupils had dilated and saw the lust in his eyes. But she knew he wouldn't take advantage of her. She walked towards the pile of clothes and put on his shirt, not wanting to walk towars her home alone. She had made a decision; she would take him to her home so he could recover and she could pay him back for his help.

{ End Flashback}

Lamia opened her eyes and smiled sadly. She missed John. He had been the perfect husband and father. Kind, caring, loyal, funny.. All she had ever wanted. She hadn't expected it to happen, but she had grown to love him more than anything. A deep love that filled her with happiness and made her the woman she once was again. She was still really thankful for that.

_What would have happened if John hadn't saved me? What if I had escaped? Would I be that monster, that murderer? Or- _" Lamia.". Her thoughts were interrupted by a soft voice. She looked to her right, where Athena was standing and looked at her.

Athena frowned slightly. Lamia knew Athena had noticed she hadn't really listened. Lamia bit her lip. " Yes? What do you want to say Athena?". Athena sighed. " The meeting is over. We have decided you should stay on Olympus for now. We will find you a place, but if you want to you can stay at my place for now".

Lamia smiled. " I would love to. Sorry I wasn't paying attention that much, I was a little distracted". Athena smiled, her grey eyes softening for a moment. " I saw that. You looked really far away. You can tell me later why. Shall we go now?'. Lamia nodded and smiled. " Let's go".

They walked towards the exit, but Lamia had the feeling something wasn't right. She felt eyes in her back. Someone was looking at her. She looked briefly over her shoulder and saw who it was.

Zeus was staring at her. He was one of the last persons in the room and his expression was a mix of lust and , odly, jealousy. Lamia frowned and looked at Athena. " Do you know why your father is staring at me like that?".

Before Athena could answer, someone else behind them did. " Because of the look in your eyes while Athena was talking , darling. You were miles away, I bet you didn't even hear what she said. You looked dreamy , like you were thinking of an old flame. And I know it wasn't Zeus. Just like he knows" the voice said.


	10. Love, Lust and Knowledge

**I don't own the Wardstone Chronicles. Sadly. I don't own Percy Jackson & the Olympians either. Actually something good since I would have made Pertemis and Pothena happen... And ruined both the series if i had owned them... **

Lamia turned around, startled. She was face-to-face with a _very_ beautiful woman. Lamia didn't know how to describe her since she wasn't simply beautiful. The embodiment of beauty was a better discription.

Her appearance changed all the time, but right now, she had flowing, blond hair and turquoise eyes. Her hair came to her waist and looked like gold, shining and catching the rays of light. Her eyes were a mix of lime and light blue, with thick and long lashes. Her nose and mouth were absolutely perfect, no other way to describe her. She was tall, lithe and perfectly shaped. Lamia was convinced any girl would be outh of their mind of jealousy if they saw the woman's figure. And the rest of her, for she was impossibly beautiful.

Her clothes seemed to fit her perfectly, like they were mad of her. Lamia didn't approve of them however. The skirt was, in her opinion, _way_ too short. Her top left most of her arms and shoulder bare and allowed someone to look right into it, Lamia noticed. Her boots, with very high heels, came over her knees and seemed to be made of leather. The outfit, in Lamia's opinion, was sort of... slutty.

Lamia raised her eyebrows slightly. " Aphrodite. To what do we owe the pleasure of your company?" she asked overly formal, her voice cool. She really didn't like Aphrodite, considering her behaviour and her profession. Lamia suspected Aphrodite had been involved in her love life, which made her very annoyed with the woman. That was _her_ business, and Aphrodite shouldn't interfere, after all.

Aphrodite smiled , either completely ignoring or missing Lamia's slight contempt, and took a step forward. " Well sweetheart, isn't it obvious? I'm here to help you, of course!". Lamia snorted. " Like you helped last time? My love life hasn't been exactly satisfying and-". Aphrodite giggled. " Oh, but my dear, I simply _can't _believe that with all the experience your lover had". Lamia narrowed her eyes. " There are more ways to be satisfied and I was certainly not satisfied with your father's behaviour. Besides, since I didn't have any experience before him, I had nothing to compare it to. Therefore, I simply couldn't confirm he was the best, since at that moment he was the only" Lamia said, her composture showing none of her anger, but the contempt and anger clear in her voice. Aphrodite shrugged. " Perhaps. I'm not you, so I can't be sure".

She smiled at Lamia again and raised an eyebrow, her expression eager. " Does this mean you're had lovers after him? I never noticed that. I actually believed you were still a monster, only interested in hurting people. And not in love or anything like it".

Athena sighed. " That is another Lamia, Aphrodite. This Lamia is from another place, probably some other dimension. We have talked about this during the meeting, weren't you heeding?" she commented. Aphrodite flung her hair and sighed. " Seriously Thi. I have no idea what you mean. Well, I sort of get the first part, but what means heeding? And what exactly are dimensions?". Lamia sighed. " Heeding means listening or paying attention. And your other questions, the official definition of a dimension is a measure of spatial extent, especially width, height, or length. In this case however, it -". " I wasn't really interested. That is soooo boring! I just meant Thi had to stop talking like that. _No one _can understand her-".

" That isn't indubitable. I pentrated her perfectly and-". Aphrodite started giggling uncontrolleble at the word 'penetrate'. Lamia stopped talking, frowning. " What? Why are you giggling? Can you stop it already, it's really annoying" Lamia asked Aphrodite, unsure of the cause of Aphrodite's giggling. When Aphrodite finally managed to stop, luckily for Lamia paying no attention to her comment of how annoying giggling was, she pursed her lips and smiled at Lamia. " You said penetrate! Do you get it?". Lamia was confused. Why would that word cause Aphrodite to giggle? _What is so funny about the word penetrate? I really don't get it. It's definition is to understand and I seriously doubt aphrodite does even know that. I- _Lamia's eyes widened slightly when she got it. There were other meaning of the word, of course. Lamia even blushed a little when she realized what Aphrodite was thinking.

Aphrodite laughed when she saw Lamia's expression. " Finally got it hon? I doubt you meant what I know it means, but still... Your mind must be set on one thing and-". Aphrodite was cut off by Athena who stepped forward and send her sister an annoyed glare. " The difinition of penetrate in this particular context, is understand. You have no asumen to-". " Whatever. But if you ask me, there is a reason she said penetrate instead of something else. Like understand". Athena sighed. " I would _never _ask you since your apperception of the cerebral is _very _limited".

Aphrodite stared at Athena, blinking once. Twice. " Huh?" was the only thing that left her mind. Lamia sighed and turned towards Athena. " She simply fails to conceive anything that you have voiced. You will have to utilize simple vocubulary". Lamia turned to Aphrodite, who was still frowning and just looking _really_ confused. " She meant she would never ask you , because you basically don't know anything about the mind or what people think. Basically, she wouldn't ask you because you don't know a lot". Aphrodite seemed faintly irritated by now. " I just told you my opinion, that's all! And I know the most important things in live, like love and lust".

Lamia rolled her eyes. " Seriously? you truly believe those are the most importants subjects in life? Why?". Aphrodite sighed. " They _are _the most important things in life. What would we be without love? Would we still have any happiness? And what about lust? Without a little lust, I doubt there will be a lot children born". " Love is necessary, that's true. It can give you a lot of joy, but it also holds the power to destroy you. It's dangerous. And lust.. I suppose lust is all right as long as you constrain it before it gets out of hand. Love is far more important than lust. Still, I believe those aren't the most important things in life. You also need knowledge, if you ask me".

Athena nodded, but Aphrodite just raised her eyebrows. " And what has made you happy in life, knowlegde of love?". Lamia frowned. " My life hasn't been only happiness and the result of love was centuries of misery. I would have answered love, but it caused me a lot of pain. On the contrary though, the love for my family and husband has saved me, so.. I'm not sure". Aphrodite smiled. " You have an husband? Tell me about him. Was he good-looking?".

Athena sighed. " Really Aphrodite? The inaugural thing you question is if he was handsome or not? I believe, that is futile. She already had someone , like you name it, good-looking and what did that bring her? Not a lot of happiness, I postulate. I might not have a lot of knowledge on the sibject of love, but I postulate the most important matter is whether he loved her or not" Athena remarked. " You are , again, correct. What matters most, is if he loved me or didn't. Which he did. He was really attractive too. Sadly, he is dead" Lamia told them , her voice trembling a little.

She had lived John so much and everytime she was remembered he was dead, she felt the loss again. The sadness. The realization she was alive and could be for many more lives, while he couldn't.

Aphrodite saw the sadness in her eyes and immediately walked towards her and pulled her in an hug. Lamia froze, unsure of what to do. She hadn't expected Aphrodite to hug her, which she clearly did to comfort Lamia. Aphrodite pulled back. " Oh dear. I'm so sorry. Did he die recently? Or don't you want to talk about him".

Lamia smiled, but took a step back. She didn't feel comfortable standing really close to Aphrodite. Aphrodite didn't say anything, she just waited for Lamia's response. Athena remained equally silent, but looked interested. Lamia took a deep breath. " He died a few years ago. Hi-is name was John. He w-was a sailor. We were married and lived on a farm I bought him. He was so sweet and gentil and offered me so much love. He made me really happy, even when I didn't really want him in the beginning". Aphrodite raised her eyebrows. " Why didn't you want him in the beginning. Was he _that_ ugly?" she said, her eyes widened.

Athena sighed and send Aphrodite a disapproving look. " Aphrodite, you really shouldn't say that. It's clear she loved him and you might know more about love than me, but I know you can't just say something like that". Aphrodite shrugged. " Well, it's the reason I don't like being married to Hephaestus. I mean he is really ugly! And he isn't that great in bed either, he-". " Stop that already! I have no desire to discover anything about that aspect of your life with Hephaestus. Besides, he can be a nice guy and you shouldn't be so hard on him".

Aphrodite rolled her eyes. " Please. He should be glad he has me close. I never wanted to marry him. And-". " The simple fact you didn't want to marry him, doesn't justify your actions. You can at least attempt to be faitful to him. You-". " You should shut up and mind your own business" Aphrodite interrupted Athena, who looked really annoyed.

Lamia stepped between them, sensing this would turn into a heated discussion at the very least if she didn't stop them. " Will you stop it already? This really is futile". Athena looked at Lamia, still a little annoyed, but nodded when she realized Lamia was right. Aphrodite looked to Athena, but seemed to decide whatever she wanted to ask Lamia, was more important. " So was he?" Aphrodite suddenly asked. Lamia looked at her, confused. " What do you mean?". Aphrodite rolled her eyes. " John. You husband. Was he handsome?". Lamia sighed. " Oh that. He was actually. He wasn't breathtaking or anything, but he was attractive. But at the time I met him, I wasn't exactly myself, so I didn't pay much attention to it". Aphrodite looked intrigued. " Really? Then what caught you attention?" she asked, her eyes focused on Lamia, trying to extract the answers from her.

Athena suddenly stepped forward and grabbed Lamia's wrist. Apparently, she was getting impatient. " She has no time for this and I doubt she want to discuss this. I need to talk with her and I have no time for this either. Leave her alone Aphrodite, she really don't need to be the casualty of your little plans again" she told Aphrodite.

Without another word, Athena dragged Lamia with her. Lamia didn't glance back, actually glad to be able to leave. Honestly, she didn't want to think to much about John. The pain was still too much. She was suprised about that, since she had experienced a lot in her long life and hadn't expected it to bother her that much. Then again, she had loved John.

Lamia pondered about this while being dragged by Athena. _Does love always has to hurt? All the times in my life I felt any love, it eventually caused me a lot of pain. Then again, I did get a lot of happiness back. That might have made it worth it. Still, I hate it that John had to leave us all. It's not fair that we were seperated. I was just happy, even when I had to live different than I was used to, and then most of it was taken from me. _Lamia's thoughts were oce interrupted when Athena stopped and released her wrist. She smiled at Lamia and pointed to the building behind her. " My residence" she explained.

Lamia looked at the large building. It was large and painted black and grey. The design itself looked simple, but beautiful. The place was heavily guarded, with guns and all other kind of weapons. The door seemed to be made of Titanium, Lamia just knew somehow , and had the symbol of an owl on it. Lamia smiled at Athena. " It's beautiful. The design looks simple, but is still beautiful and.. I don't know, it just fits you I suppose". " Something that looks simple, can be exceedingly complicated. I have conceptualized about it and it took me some effort". Lamia laughed. " I can imagine that. But that proves just how intelligent you are. It's easy to say something complicated as long as you study the words. But it's really hard to explain something very complicated using simple vocubulary" she said.

Athena smiled. " That is a valid point. I'm glad to discover some people actually use their brains". Lamia shrugged. " I try to. I can't be right all the time of course. And everyone makes mistakes". Lamia sighed when she thought of hers. Being here on Olympus, together with the gods, triggered her memories. They seemed far away, like it had all happened to some other person, but they were bothering her. It still hurt even if she had changed so much since then.

Athena looked at her, her gray eyes seeming to see right into her soul. " You are envisioning your past, aren't you?". Lamia nodded. She wasn't going to lie to Athena. " Yes, I am. Unwillingly of course. I would rather forget all of it ever happened. It hurts too much. It's not that I don't want to take responsebility, but there is nothing I can do about it. It all happened so long ago and I was a really different person back then". Athena nodded. " You already fathom what you should do. It wasn't entirely your fauly, you couldn't control yourself and you are unable to change anything about. It would be completely futile to waste energy by thinking about it".

Lamia sighed again. " I know. But being here, it just triggers my memories. It all comes back to me and I can't really stop it". Athena placed her thumb on some device and some sort of lightbeam reached her eye at the same time. She muttered something and the door swung open. " You should try to find a way to distract yourself. If you are distracted,you won't be thinking about it all the time" Athena advised her.

Lamia smiled. " That's a good advise. Thank you Athena". Athena shrugged. " No problem. Solving problems is one of my avocations. I enjoy the challence greatly. Sadly, most problems are easy to solve".

Lamia smiled. " I hypothesize that is because you are the goddess of wisdom. Solving problems is often very complicated". Athena nodded. " For most of us it is. Some or even unable to solve any problem. They only cause them". Lamia chuckled. " True. There are some people who only cause them".

" Like men" they heard behind them. They both turned to see Artemis walking through the door. She smiled at Athena. " Hello The. How are you?". Athena shrugged. " I suppose I'm fine. Just a little agitated about this situation Lamia's arrival has put us in, but that's all".

Artemis nodded. " I suppose. It's very odd. We will have to invest that. But let's relax first, right?". When Athena nodded, silently agreeing, she turned towards Lamia. " And while we are at it, we might need a little... talk" she said, her expression unreadable.

Lamia swallowed, her throat a little dry. She just hoped Artemis would be an ally, not an enemy. What more could she hope for?


	11. Arts and others

**I don't own the Wardstone Chronicles. Or Percy Jackson & the Olympians. I only own the books written by the amazing Rick Riordan and the books written by the amazing Jospeh Delaney. The books, not the story. The story is owned by Joseph Delaney and Rick Riordan. Enjoy!**

Lamia took a deep breath, trying to calm down a little, and followed Artemis and Athena. They walked through a gragantuan gallary. There were paintings everywhere, all masterpieces.

There were also a few sculptures. And chandeliers, seemingly made of ice. Like giant icesculptures. They were beautiful, and all different.

Lamia stopped, looking around. She almost forgot how to breathe when she looked at all the art. She had always liked art. " By all the gods.." she whispered. This place made her breathless, dizzy and amazed.

Artemis and Athena looked back at her. " Yes Lamia. Is there anything you wish to allege? " Athena asked. Lamia frowned. " I don't actually. Why do you anticipate I do?". A slightly amused expression crossed Athena's face. " You said ' by all the gods'. I assumed there was someone bothering you. I should have only uttered something when I was convinced something was bothering you, but I truly believed it to be the truth" Athena said.

Artemis sighed and punched Athena. " The! You really should try to stop taking everything so literal. By all the gods is just an expression". Athena raised her eyebrows slightly, still smiling. " I am aware, but she could have meant to utter something important. Most people use the expression, because they aren't aware of the simple fact that we exist. Lamia knows very well we do exist and therefore I assumed she was calling us".

Lamia smiled. " Well, I wasn't. I uttered the words without thinking". Artemis sighed. " See The? There was no ulterior meaning, just an expression. She probably didn't even realize what she was saying. Just let it go The".

Athena opened her mouth to pretest, and probably talk endlessly about it, but Lamia stopped her. " Artemis is right. I didn't intend to call you or anything. I was just stunned when I saw all the beautiful art. I have always liked art" she explained.

Athena nodded. " It is wonderful, isn't it? Art isn't just something beautiful. It has often a message or a little piece of the artist. It's like looking at someone's soul" she said. Lamia nodded enthusiastic. " It really does. That is what amazes me, what captures my attention. The way every artist has his own style, his own message. Nothing is ever the same, not even when they use the same techniques. I always like to discover the intention, the message of the artist".

Artemis sighed. " Really interesting, but can we talk about something else. Honostly, I'm not really interested in art". Lamia looked at her, suprised. " You aren't? Why not? After all, there is so much to see, to learn when it comes down to art". Artemis shrugged. " I enjoy looking at art, but I'm not like you and Athena. I don't really find satisfaction in discovering messages. And I'm not the person to be at one place and stare at something for hours, only because I want to understand the person who made the painting".

Lamia frowned. She hadn't thought about that. In a way, it was only logical Artemis didn't like painting as much as her. It was definetely not like her to be immobile for hours, to find the patience to look at a painting for hours , waiting until she understood the message of the painter.

" I understand. It's only logical you aren't interested. Being the goddes of the hunt, among many other things, you are energetic and wary. With your personality, it's insane to expect you to look at some colors for hours. You have patience, but not for subject like arts" Lamia concluded. Artemis didn't really respond, she just nodded.

Athena looked at Lamia, a smile tugging at the corners of her mouth. Lamia already understood Athena didn't laugh that much. She took her work as goddess of wisdom and war strategy and life in general very serious. However, Lamia knew she did have a sense of humor; she had laughed after all. She just wasn't really the person to relax and laugh out loud.

" You seem to be able to understand Artemis and her personality rather well" Athena remarked while she started walking, Artemis and Lamia next to her. Lamia didn't reply to this immmediately; she was too busy with staring at the treasure around her. Not gold or other valuable metals. Not jewels or other valuable accessories. No, sculptures and art and inventions.

The most beautiful pieces of art hang on the wall, indescribably beautiful. The sculptures of people and animal looked like there were real, like they were people turned to stone instead of pieces of stone made to look like people. The inventions were everywhere; on the wall, at the ceiling, in the corners and on tables. They were all very different; some looked familair to Lamia and some looked very odd. Some looked very, very complicated to make and some very simple. All were made with the greatest of skill, the only thing they had in common.

Athena saw her staring, Lamia's eyes wide and her mouth open, and smiled. " You like my various pieces of arts? My sculptures, all made by the most talented? And the inventions, some made by me, others made by considered genii?" she asked. Lamia didn't respond at first; solemny focused on the scenery of all those items. She only responded when Athena said her name again, this time her voice a little cold.

Lamia understood she had, unwillingly, ignored and ( a bit) insulted the goddess and quickly looked at her again. She smiled. " I do. I even love them; they are so beautiful. They are marvellous, the only word to describe them as I lack of a word that could describe their beauty" Lamia said.

Athena smiled, her grey eyes once again friendly instead of cold and calculating. Lamia saw the pride in her eyes; Athena obviously was proud of her collection and the fact she was connected to them. She nodded. " Thankyou. I agree with you that they are marvellous, although I don't agree to your statement that they are no words to describe them. You always use words to describe something and although they are beautfull unlike anything else and extraordinary, they are also words to describe them. But I'm glad you like my palace".

Artemis laughed softly. " Oh please The, you knew she would like it. Don't make it sound like you hadn't expected her to like it. You already called her smart when you saw her all those years ago. Well, the other her". Athena raised her eyebrows slightly. " I assumed she would like it. I don't know her that welll and therefore I can't be sure of her opinions and likings. But I try. And technically, she and the other Lamia were the same back then. Now, she has changed, but I cognize she was like the other Lamia when she saw the gods in her dimension. Besides, I didn't call her smart. My exact words were ' she is smart for an idiot who was stupid enough to fall for our father'. And I was right. She is smart. She just had the bad luck to fall for our father, which never turns out right for a woman".

Lamia sighed. " Thanks for calling me an idiot Athena". Athena turned towards her, her eyebrows raising a little bit more, the only sign of any emotion. Even if it was contempt, which Lamia suspected it might be. " You are mistaken Lamia. I most certainely didn't call _you _an idiot. Firstly; the creature I called an idiot was the Lamia from the past in this dimension. True, you are the same person, only in other dimensions, but I didn't call you an idiot. Secondly; you are very different from the broken woman who turned into a monster. I suspect you are an entirely different person. Otherwise, you would have attempted to attack us or tried to hurt the children at camp" Athena said.

Lamia looked at her, a little baffled Athena knew all of this. But there was a reason she was the goddess of wisdom, of course. This reason being Athena was very smart, but also wise. She used the knowledge and really understood.

Lamia managed a very weak smile. " I shouldn't be suprised you understand, but I still do. And you're right, of course. I'm a very different person. Like I have told my youngest son, I have little in common with that murderous creature I once was. I-". " You have a son?" Artemis interrupted, cutting in the conversation. She seemed interested, just like Athena who was looking at Lamia. Waiting for her answer.

" I do. His name is Tom. I have six other sons, but they aren't here. I already told you I had sons, right?". Artemis frowned. " I don't believe so. I certainly can't remember you saying anything about a son". Athena looked at her with her piercing grey eyes. " Maybe you don't remember, because you wasn't hearkening when I was talking. Again. Seriously Artemis, you should stop daydreaming during meetings. They are important and the information you receive is important too".

Artemis sighed, but she smiled. " I wasn't hearkening, which you mean talking with, because I had other things to do. I wasn't just daydreaming, I was talking to Lamia. That was very important. Besides, I'm sure you didn't say anything about any of her children. Why would you anyway?". Athena sighed." You could have waited until after the meeting. The meeting was important too. The best option would have been to wait after the meeting to talk to Lamia. And I didn't talk about her sons, but only because it would have been dangerous. Hera would probably have tried to hurt them".

Lamia froze when she thought about that. She hadn't really thought about Tom, but now she realized the danger he was in. Tom wasn't a child of Zeus, of course, but he was her child and Hera would love to hurt him. Anything that would hurt Tom would hurt Lamia and Hera wanted Lamia to be hurt.

_That stupid bitch. Why can't she leave me alone? She should apologize, not want to cause anymore damage. If that bitch as much as thinks about hurting Tom.. _

Lamia gritted her teeth, her entire body tense, when she thought about Hera hurting Tom. She could hear Hera laugh again, see the satisfied look in her eyes when she looked at the bodies of Lamia's children. Could hear her cruel words and mocking. Smell the blood of her children and feel the overwhelming loss and pain. She couldn't take that again. She would do everything to protect Tom, even if she had to rip Hera's heart out for it. If Hera dared to hurt Tom, she would be dead. No, in unbelievable pain.

Lamia would use her talons to hurt her wherever she could. She would rip out her eyeballs, she would cutt off limbs, she would do anything to hurt Hera. She would use her fangs and drink her blood, but only to hear her scream when her fangs touched her skin. She would- "Lamia!".

Lamia blinked and looked around her, confused. She saw Artemis and Athena were looking at her, even Athena looked worried. They had finally stopped their discussion and noticed something was wrong. Lamia managed a weak smile, still a little mad for some reason. " Yes? I'm sorry, I was somewhere else with my thoughts".

Artemis walked towards her, taking one of her hands which she had unconsciously changed into fists. She held Lamia's hand for her face. " You hurt yourself" she said softly. Lamia frowned. " No, I didn't. I-". She stopped talking when she saw her hand. She had dug her nails again in her own skin.

She must have become so angry it had triggered the change. Normally, it wouldn't go this fast, but who know? She was in a very different place, after all. She took back her hand, wiping the blood at her skirt, not really caring her skirt got dirty. " Sorry. That sometimes happens when I get really angry".

Athena studied her. " What made you so angry you transformed?" she asked. Artemis nodded. " Yes, what?". Lamia looked at the ground and sighed. " Nothing. It's just.. I love my son very much and when you mentioned Hera, it brought back some bad memories. I imagined she would hurt Tom and I sort of lost it for a moment" she explained. " You will have to learn to control that" Athena remarked.

Lamia found the courage to look at the two wome- goddesses and nodded. " I know. Normally, it wouldn't go that fast. Anger does make me change, but not like this". She saw Artemis and Athena exchanged glances, still worried. Athena looked at her again. " How fast does it normally goes? If we want to udnerstand the reason you are here and gather some information, we will have to note all the changes. So tell".

Lamia opened her mouth, but Artemis spoke before her. " Let her tell her story when we are sitting The. We already arrived at your chamber anyway" she said. Lamia hadn't realized it, but Artemis was right; they had arrived at a door. A door with the emblem of an owl and some text on it.

The door was like the rest of the palace; complicated, beautiful and just intimidating. Athena mummbled something and the door flung open, revealing the room it had hidden. Lamia stepped inside after Athena had given her a quick nodd she was allowed to.

She looked around, eager to see more. The room was big, but all space was occupied. It actually were two rooms and the one they were standing in seemed to be a living room. But a really odd living room.

There were two big couches, looking very comfortable, with a table between them. There were a few enormous bookshelves, stocked with all kind of books in different languages. There was some machine in the corner, together with something Lamia knew was a tap and something that looked like a closet. Lamia knew somehow it was called a fridge and used to store food.

She looked at the rest of the room. In another corner, there seemed to be a small workshop, with unfinished inventions on the ground and material everywhere.

There was also an easel in the room, with a finished painting. The painting was so beautful and special, Lamia couldn't stop looking. It was like her eyes were glued to it. She understood Athena had made this. It was the only explanation for such a perfect painting.

Athena saw her looking and smiled. She didn't say anything, but walked towards the couches. " Sit down please. I will get some tea for us". Lamia walked towards the couch and sat down, still looking at the painting.

Artemis, sitting down next to her, smiled. " Beautiful, isn't it? Athena made it". Lamia nodded. " I already suspected she did. Only she has the skills to make something as astonishing as that painting". Artemis laughed softly. " Yes, she does. No one else would be able to. Not even my brother".

Lamia looked at her. " Apollo. Are you two getting along?". Artemis shrugged. " Sort of. He is my brother, my twin brother, and I like him. But he can be really annoying. There are times when I'm tempted to just shoot him" she said.

Lamia nodded. " Well, even the ones we love most can make us really angry and cause us to do things like that. And I thought you couldn't kill a god?". Artemis smiled faintly. " You can't. Not really. Most of our wounds heal after some nektar or ambrosia. Or if we use our powers. But you can sent a god to Tartarus. Or he can fade. It happened to Helios".

" The sun god" Lamia said, remembering the name. " Not anymore he is. Apollo is now. He just drives that stupid car of him, looking like some footballplayer and tries to seduce as many women as possible. Ugh! He is so annoying".

Lamia smiled. " He is? And what makes him annoying"? Artemis rolled her eyes. " What doesn't? Seriously, he is exactly like all those males I despise. Only interested in his own personal good. Always going after women, and treating them far from good. He doesn't take life serious. At _all_. And he keeps calling me little sister and saying I should have some fun. Which is ridiculous, because one; I'm older than him. I helped my mother give birth to him. And two; I m having fun. I don't want the fun he is suggesting and the last time I did anything like he suggested, he shot my best friend!".

Lamia shook her head. " Seriously? The man is thousands of years old and he still acts like that? He should grow up!" she said. " He won't. He doesn't comprehend it would be profitable" Athena, who brought them tea and cookies, said.

Artemis sighed. " I know. And it's just who he is, but he annoys me so much!". Athena smiled. " That's logical. He is the exact opposite of you. He likes the things you despise and acts exactly like the men you hate so much".

Artemis nodded. " Exactly. But enough about him, we have other things to talk about". Athena nodded and looked at Lamia. " Exactly. Many, more urgent, things to talk about" she said with a weird look in her eyes.


	12. Burned, inside and outside

**I don't own the Wardstone Chronicles. Or Percy Jackson&the Olympians. * Grabs by shoulders and screams* "I DON'T OWN IT. I DO NOT OWN IT! I'M AM NOT NOT NOT JOSEPH DELANEY OR RICK RIORDAN". * Someone screams; wild animal and shoots her with stun gun*. Sleep well! And enjoy this. ( Ps; I might might have finally lost my mind. That, or I have had too much sugar. The only explanation I have for this randomness above;p )**

Athena looked at Lamia for so long it made her slightly uncomfortable. And extremely nervous and wary. She couldn't decipher the way Athena was looking at her. She looked very thoughtful, but also something else. It could be practically anything. Curiousity, interest and pity. On the other hand, it could also be hate, contempt or disgust. Which one was it?

Lamia started to feel more anxious with every minute that passed. Every minute that those startling grey eyes stared at her. Every minute she felt like she was trapped. She wouldn't be suprised if Athena could see into her very soul. If she still had one, which she begged she had.

But after all she had done, could she still hope for a better place after her life? Sure, her change and all the murders had been a result of the murder of her children. She had been crazy at the time, hadn't had any control of herself. But still, she couldn't deny part of it was her fault. She wasn't innocent, far from it. She wasn't that creature anymore, that beast that would kill just to hear someone scream. The vicious creature that didn't know the word mercy. That creature that could never kill enough people. She wasn't that monster anymore.

Her time with John had changed her, made her a better person. It had cured her insanity, you could say. It had stopped her hate and anger. It had made her the person she was today.

She hadn't expected she would grow to love John. She had expected he would stay the same to her; just some sailor, the only special thing about him the fact that he had saved her life.

Sure, he had been handsome. But Lamia had been a queen once upon a time. Rich, powerfull and beautiful. And she had once been the lover of Zeus. And a powerful enchantress. And at the moment she met John, the Lamia. What could he, a ordinary sailor, ever do for her?

She wasn't one to be easily men had tried to charm her, to take her heart, but before John only one had succeeded. It had taken a god to steal her heart the first time. And a sailor the second time.

They were so different. Zeus had been like a king; high, mighty and untouchable. John had been like the servant of that king; low, powerless and easy.

But Lamia didn't believe that anymore. She had thought he was low considered to Zeus; that he was unimportant, just a pawn of life. But he had sailed the seas and survived every blow of it, every storm. And he had managed to get to her, to melt her heart when she was at her lowest. When she had no morals, no rules, no heart. It had always amazed her of how he, who seemed so trivial, could have done such things. He had seemed ordinary, just a sailor, but he had done so much more than any sailor could ever hope to do. And she would always thank him for that.

And powerless? She had believed he was powerless. After all, she was Lamia. If she choose to, she could take his life in a second and he could do nothing about it. And there were beings stronger than her, beings that ruled the world even when not all people knew they did. Gods. Lamia knew all too well how powerful they were, how did could both make life and destroy it in seconds. Zeus had done that to her. If she looked back at it, he had captured her the second they met. He had hold her attention, conquered her body, mind and soul. He had made her fall in love and he had made the following months the happiest of her life. He had had made her life something worthy. And had taken all her joy, love and innocence away, the life inside her, the second it had become clear he wouldn't help her and their children. He had crushed her.

What was John compared to these beings, who could do all things considered impossible. What was one human, one sailor, compared to the gods, who ruled all? Lamia hadn't believed John could mean anything, she had believed he was just another human. Even if he wasn't ordinary,even if he wasn't just another man. Even if he had saved her life and asked nothing in return while others would take everything and give nothing. She hadn't believed it would matter in the end.

But she had been wrong. He hadn't been powerless. He might not have had power like her, magic. But he had another kind of power. He was kind, caring and unbreakable. He would go on forever and nothing would make him stop to help those he cared for. The second thing Lamia found admirable and changed her opinion of him. That changed her feelings. Slowly.

Easy, as in it would be easy to get him to love her. To get him to do everything she wasn't. Zeus hadn't been like that. Being king of the gods, he wouldn't obey commands; he gave them. He took and didn't give. He wanted everything, while you could get nothing from him. Well, not love anyway.

The thing she had always wanted most, and had believed she had, had been his love. But that wasn't what he had felt, she knew. If he had, he would have come and saved them. He would have helped her and not left her to face Hera alone. All he had felt was lust. He had probably just seen her as a way to past time, something to play with. A toy. He wanted to play with her, but would dispose of her whenever he was done playing. When he lost interest.

But John, oh John. He had been so different. She had been right about some things. Like the fact that , from the moment he had seen her, he had wanted her. But he wouldn't just take her. She had been wrong about that. The first time she ever let him touch her, he had asked her if she knew sure. He had always put her needs before his.

Sure, he was a man and even he didn't have to control to keep refusing it when he wasn't sure she wanted it. But he hadn't been as easy as she expected. He had always had a opinion. Of course, usual she could make him do what she wanted, but he wouldn't just give in. He would only give in when it wasn't against what he believed in. And the was the third thing that interested her, that had changed her feelings for him; his beliefs and strength. He had always stuck to his beliefs, even when she was the one to ask him to put them aside. Not that she had ever really asked it, but when he felt he didn't want it, that he wasn't sure it was the right thing to do, he would say no.

And he had always kept his opinion, he had never been weak. In the beginning, she had seen him as a way to reach her purpose; destroying the fiend. That she had been willing to sleep with him, to bear his children, just to accomplish this, had proven how crazy she had been back then. She had been willing to marry without love. She hadn't even believed in love, love hadn't even occured in her mind. All she had been thinkinh about , was destroying the fiend.

She was so thankful John had managed to change her, to make her believe in love again. That he had given her seven beautiful sons, whom she loved so much she thought her heart would burst, and had made her happy again. She could never thank him enough for that. And to think, she hadn't even really liked him in the beginning...

[ Flashback ]

Lamia looked at the man on her bed with slight interest. They were in her home, in her private chambers. She had put some clothes on before she would help him. Not that she mind being naked, but she didn't want him to give the wrong idea. The idea he could have her.

She would kill him if he tried anything. And for the first time in a very long time, Lamia felt something like mercy and pity. He had saved her and she wouldn't take his life, she didn't want that. He somehow had caught her attention and she wouldn;t just take his life. Not even when his blood smelled so good and she was hungry. Not even when he was a man and Lamia believed men only promised trouble.

But _I have the idea, this man is worth the trouble _Lamia thought when she looked at him. He looked so different than the men Lamia had known. And acted so different.

She studied him again while she searched her closet. There was no denying he was handsome; he just was. He might not have been breathtaking, but he was definetely handsome and Lamia suspected he wouldn't have that much trouble finding willing women. With his straight teeth, strong jaw, mesmerizing green eyes and wild, brown hair, he was very attractive. And he wasn't scrawny either; he was very muscular. Despite the fact he was a simple sailor, women would be very interested in him. He just had something. Even Lamia had to admit this.

She wasn't interested in men anymore; the only thing she wanted from them was their pain and blood. She wanted to hear them scream, beg and die painfull. She wanted to hear their painfilled moans when she sunk her fangs in their necks. She wanted them to pay, to pay for what _he _had done to her. She wanted them to suffer, just like she had suffered.

All the tears of their women and children, all their own tears for themself and their family, wasn't enough to calm her, to stop her bloodthirst. All the men, women and children had lost their lives, hadn't been enough. They hadn't made the feelings, the pain, disappear. They hadn't make the world seem cleaner. And they certainly didn't make her feel guilty. She didn't mind all those beings being dead. Why would she?

She looked at John again, who was clearly trying very hard not to think about where exactly he was. Lamia almost laughed when she saw that. He was a sailor and must have seen so many things, have been in so many places and undoubtly had so many women and yet he looked nervous and very tense now he just sat on a bed.

She finally found the thing she had been searching for and walked towards him. He tensed even more when she came closer and she smiled at him. He blushed a little, clearly very uncomfortable.

_Strange. I would never have anticipated this. For a sailor, he is very nervous around women _Lamia thought, fascinated. She hadn't expected he would be so nervous. She had expected him to be confident and take advantage of the situation.

She showed him the vial in here hands, knowing all too well he wouldn't understand her if she tried to tell him her intention. Which might be better, considering it would take more time if she had to explain burned skin needed help now. That couldn't wait.

He didn't say anything, but she was convinced it must hurt. His skin was really burned and she knew enough of wounds to understand she needed to do something about it now.

Normally, she wouldn't help him and just let him take care of himself. But something about this man was different. Something inside her told her she should help him.

And he had saved her life. If he needed some help, why wouldn't she help him? She rubbed the medicine into his burned skin. She tried to be as gentle as possible, but his sharp breaths and muffled moans of pain told her it must still hurt a lot. Not that he said anything. He just gritted his teeth and let her rub the medicine into his skin.

She started at his shoulder, working her way down. Slowly, the medicine started to work. He clearly relaxed and even seem to enjoy the rubbing.

However, he frooze again when she climbed into his lap to reach the front of his shoulders and his chest. His chest, bare arms and legs were burned severly and he hissed sharply when she touched him, seemingly forgetting she was sitting on his lap.

For a moment, he only focused on the pain and not on the fact that she was still sitting at his lap. But when the pain lessened, his body tensed and she saw he was very nervous. Lamia smiled reassuringly at him and continued rubbing, this time her hands on his strong legs.

He leaned back a little, closing his eyes. Now the pain had lessened, he seemed to enjoy the rubbing. He even made a soft mm sound and sighed.

Lamia smiled. Normally, she would have felt very annoyed by now. She wouldn't have done anything like this in the first place had he been a ordinary man, but he wasn't. He had saved her life. And he hadn't even tried something inappropriate when he had the chance. Other men would have tried to violate her, Lamia was sure of this. But he hadn't. And he had been angry when he had seen the pin through her hand. He had cared.

This man, Lamia decided, was something special. And she didn't mind helping him heal his wounds. She actually enjoyed it. And to her utter suprise, she felt a little bit aroused when she felt his body close to hers and the expression on his face.

Although she had to admit, when she looked at his neck she almost started drooling. She could see his carotid artery, could almost hear his blood flowing and smelled it. The sweet and yet sour smell made her loose it.

And before she knew what she was doing, she bent forward and bit in neck. Hard. Not with her fangs, but it must hard. The second she understood what she had done he regretted it , to her suprise, when she thought about what this man had done for her.

It must hurt and she already started retreating when she heard his moan and froze. She had expected him to be in pain, but that didn't sound as pain. His eyes opened and Lamia couldn't move. She was a fearless, cruel creature, but something about his eyes made her feel dizzy and confused.

She swallowed, her throat suddenly a little dry, when she saw the look in his eyes. The same look she had seen so often. The same look almost any man had when he saw her. The same look Zeus had had. Lust.

She seemed to stop breathing. One part of her anticipating the expected kiss, needing it. That was the part that had remained burried for the past decades, but it was still there. And the other part, the part that had led her the past years on her journey of murder, screamed to hurt him. To avoid it. To ignore the growing desire and show him what would happen to men like him.

Still, Lamia wanted to listen to the desire. She hadn't felt like this in a long time and wanted it. It made her feel more alive. It made her feel better. She closed her eyes slightly, leaning forward a little...

And opened her eyes in suprise when he suddenly lifted her and lay her on the bed. She had expected him to climb on top of her, but he did something very different. He got of the bed and walked backwards, with a haunted look in his eyes.

Lamia frowned; she really didn't understand this. _Why..? Why is he walking backwards, like he is trying to get away. He wants me, I can see that. Any other men would have lost control and take this opportunity. Why not him? _

Lamia watched with disbelief how he tried to get to the door. Tried to, because she wouldn't just let him go.

Faster than ever, not more than a blur, Lamia ran towards him. She closed the door he had barely opened and looked at him. His pupils were dilated, his breathing was quicky and uneven and certain regains of him were more than ready for action. Lamia could also hear his fast heartbeat and saw the lust in his eyes. Yet, he didn't try anything. Not even kiss her.

And that was the moment Lamia recognized the feelings going through her. She hadn't felt much, apart from anger and hate, these past years. But she recognized the feeling she was having. Disappointment. She was actually disappointed he didn't try anything. For the first time in a _very _long time, she felt attracted to a man. She wanted him. She wanted to kiss him and push him on the bed and feel his mouth on her, on her lips, on her neck, on her breasts, everywhere.

He was as aroused as she was , at least, and yet he didn't try anything. Lamia didn't understand him, but decided there she had to know more about this man. She would try to learn his language, so she could at least talk with him. She might kill him later, but right now she certainly wouldn't.

She saw he was still staring at her, confused and hungry at the same time, and decided something. If she wanted to know him, she had to start at the beginning.

So she offered him her hand and said ' Lamia' . He stared at her hand for some time before he smiled and took it, apparently deciding to ignore his lust. For now. He smiled, a very charming smile she noticed, and said ' John ' .

[ End Flashback ]

Lamia blinked a few times, a little confused. She had trouble remembering where she was and what she was doing.

She looked around, noticing Artemis and Athena looking at her. Athena was still looking at her like she had before, except Lamia could have sworn she looked a little concerned. And Artemis didn't really move, seemingly lost in thought.

Lamia smiled at Athena, deciding to ignore the painful memory, and cleared her throat. " Anything you wanted to ask?" she said. Athena nodded. " Tell me about your encounter with my me about your change. Tell me about your life"

"And most importantly, tell me the reason you keep going back to your former form whenever you have that weird glance in your eyes".

Lamia didn't understand at first, but the she looked down at herself and understood. For what had been smooth skin, was now scales.


	13. Flying Feathers

**I don't own the Wardstone Chronicles or Percy Jackson& Olympians.**

Lamia looked down at her legs, a little shocked. She had never been able to change this fast, unless she was really, really angry. And after the change, she was often disorientated for some time.

But now, she felt great and the change hadn't even been painful. It had always been painful. It had always felt like needles, hot needles, were being stick into her flesh. Like she was first burned and then frozen again. Like her bones were breaking.

It had been part of her punishment, part of the reason she had hated her form so much. The gods had made sure that even when she had all that power, the claws and everything, she still had something to remind her of her mistakes. Whenever she changed, she remembered. She remembered the reason why she felt that pain. Except, she didn't feel any pain now. She felt fine, great even. And she hadn't even been trying to change.

That was another thing that was odd; she had changed without intending to do so. In the past, she had always needed to concentrate in order to change and it had always been a slow, painful process that demanded a lot of concentration.

Lamia didn't understood why it was suddenly so different. _It has something to do with this place, I'm sure. It has never happened like this before. What can be the cause of this? Why am I suddenly changing whenever I'm angry or some other strong emotion is involved? And this time, I wasn't even angry or very upset._

Lamia's thoughts were interrupted when Athena suddenly spoke. Or actually thought out loud. "That hasn't happened before, has it? It isn't ordinary, if the look on your face is a good indication of my suspicions. Tell me Lamia, why did you change"? she asked, sounding both interested and slightly wary.

Lamia swallowed, a little nervous. Athena and Artemis didn't really make her nervous, but this rather unexpected change did. Lamia didn't like it. It made her feel uncomfortable. Her greatest fear was going back to being _the _Lamia, that monster, again. And if she lost self-control, it might happen. Only the idea of going back to being a monster, made Lamia feel ill. She felt horrible thinking about all she had done. All the people she had hurt with her actions. All the lives she had taken.

And felt really uncomfortable when she thought what could happen if she couldn't control herself. She would go back to being that monster again. She would forget her humanity again. She might not be human, but that didn't mean she didn't have their morals. She had. As long as she was herself and not _it. _

The presence of Athena and Artemis didn't make her feel more comfortable. Quite the opposite. It made her feel very wary and nervous. Like something very dangerous was coming. It triggered her instincts, which were screaming to either flee or fight.

Lamia knew she had to answer Athena's question. She normally avoided every conversation about her past, but she understood she didn't really have a choice this time. It was too important. Her experiences might help to understand what she was doing here. And if anyone could help her find out what all this meant, it was Athena.

"I-I don't know" Lamia admitted. She really didn't know. She didn't know why she was here. She didn't know what consequences her presence here had. She didn't even know how she had gotten here. Well, she knew it had something to do with what had happened back at home, but she didn't know _what _exactly had happened. All she knew, was that one moment she was ground, and the next she was lifted into the air. And when she woke up, she was at an entirely different place, in another universe for god's sake!

Athena sighed. " I already feared that would be the case. Without any information, there is little to do. It will take some time before we decipher what exactly is going on here".

Artemis, looking grim, nodded. " Whatever it is, I have a feeling it isn't anything good" she said, looking at Lamia again. Lamia sighed. They probably believed it was her fault. And why wouldn't they? She had caused so many misery and pain in her existence. She had hurt even those whom she had love. And could never forget or forgive herself for it.

" My apologies" she muttered. Artemis and Athena looked surprised. Lamia smiled, a smile full of self-mockery, when she saw that. " You hadn't contemplated I would apologize, had you?" she asked. Artemis smiled. " Not really. Why did you?".

Lamia shrugged. " If it is your fault, it is the logical thing to do. I know-". " Wait a minute" Artemis interrupted her. She looked at Lamia, eyebrows raised. " Why would you believe this is your fault? You had nothing to do with it, did you?". " No, but-".

" If you had nothing to do with it, you have no responsibility whatsoever. You aren't able to do anything about it Lamia. And since it isn't your miscue, it is illogical to apologize" Athena cut in.

Artemis rolled her eyes, but nodded. She wasn't smiling or looking even a bit friendly , but Lamia knew Artemis was on her side and not against her. They were allies. Maybe they would even be friends.

Lamia smiled, relieved beyond belief. " Thank you. I'm glad you offer me this attainableness to make up for my mistakes. Thank you".

Artemis smiled, a small smile but a smile nonetheless. " You're welcome. I don't believe you are really evil. You just make a mistake. And I'm sure you and Athena are going to have a lot of fun together. Well, your idea of fun that is. Seriously Lamia? Attainableness? You could have said chance, you know". Lamia smiled. " Well, you contemplated what I meant, didn't you?".

Artemis shrugged. " Sure, but it wasn't necessary to use that word". Lamia raised her eyebrows. " And do you have any valuable reason as to why it wasn't imperative?". " Yes. It is completely futile to use such language since you don't have to impress anyone and there is no need to use such formal language" Artemis responded. She sounded stern and slightly annoyed, but Lamia saw a smile tugging at the corners of her mouth.

" Artemis, I can simply not acquiesce to your statement. Formal language is required this time, because I'm speaking to two deities. And what is higher than you two?". Artemis raised her eyebrows. "Easy. My father. There is a reason he is king of the gods. And we have already given you permission to relax and speak to us like you would speak to friends or relatives".

Lamia smiled. " Technically, you haven't. You have never said such a thing or anything referring to it. You might have expressed yourself in a way that made it clear, but I didn't notice and I'm aware of the fact you deserve my respect. I should be polite, shouldn't I?". " Of course you should, but that doesn't mean you have to be overly polite, use such formal language and act like we are going to punish you if you use different language".

Lamia shrugged. " Maybe you are. I don't have any desire to insult you, but both of you don't tolerate disrespect, so you might punish me". " Using simpler vocabulary is definitely no justification to punish you. Really, just talk normal, will you?". " I suppose that would be possible, except-".

Athena, who had remained silent until now, sighed. " Enough the two of you". She looked at Artemis. " Artemis, you and I have had this verbal fight before. If someone, in this case Lamia, chooses to use herculean vocabulary, let her and-". " Athena! You know I don't like that phrase. Hercules was an insufferable man. You know what he has done to Zoë".

Athena sighed. " I am aware of the consequences of his actions and I'm sorry. Let's just forget this discussion and move on to more important matters. Like the question what exactly Lamia's purpose here is".

Lamia frowned. " My purpose?". Athena nodded. " Yes. There must be a reason you were brought here. And we have to discover that reason". Artemis nodded. " After all that has happened, we can't be too careful".

Lamia was still frowning and looked at her. " What happened? Annabeth said something alike. What exactly has happened in this universe?". Artemis and Athena exchanged glances. " Well, there have been some fights, and a lot of problems. Kronos tried to rise and we needed one brave demi-god to save us. Without him, we would probably have lost and the world would have been reduced to chaos. Kronos has been defeated and destroyed, but maybe it is another of our old enemies?".

Athena nodded. " Something very powerful must have sent you here. Something even more powerful than the gods".

This time, Lamia nodded. " I thought the same. But what? Or who?". She wanted to know who was behind this. Who was their enemy. If there was an enemy. Which there likely was.

Artemis sighed. " I'm afraid we don't know. But whatever it is, I am convinced hunting it won't be easy. It would probably be disastrous". The three woman remained silent for a while, all lost in their own thoughts. Athena was the first to look up. " I despise the idea greatly, but I don't know. Normally I would like to gain some new knowledge, but in this situation it is a great disadvantage. I contemplate we can better put it aside for now. We will just have to be careful and keep our eyes open. Especially you will need to be careful Lamia. Even Olympus isn't always safe".

Lamia nodded. " I will. But if we won't talk about the problems at hand, were are we going to talk about?".

Athena smiled, her face lighting up. " We can talk about science or other fields in which great improvements have been made. A lot has happened those past centuries and I'm sure you will be enthralled and befuddled Lamia. Neuroscience, for example, is- Ah! By me!"

Athena's fascinating ( hmm. No sarcasm. Yes sarcasm! Of course it is sarcasm!) speech was interrupted when Artemis threw a pillow in her face. " Artemis! Why did you do that? I was trying to elucidate to Lamia what neuroscience is and- Ah! Stop that!".

Artemis, laughing, had hit Athena with a pillow. Again. Athena looked at her, both irritated and interested. Every chance of gaining new knowledge piqued her interest after all.

Artemis laughed. " Because The, you're so damn serious. You should learn to have some fun sometimes. Besides, I believe the mortals call this situation a sleepover. Apollo forced me to watch some movies with him about it. And this is a pillow fight".

The next moment, she hit Athena with the pillow. Hard. Athena froze for a minute, but quickly picked up a pillow when Artemis continued hitting her. " You're going to lose this Artemis! I'm the goddess of strategy. I know how to win this and AU!".

Artemis laughed like crazy when she hit Athena so hard she fell on the ground. " Less talking, more fighting The. Not all fights are won with words". Before Athena could respond, or get up, Artemis already ran away.

Lamia stared at her for a second, before running to Athena and helping her up. Athena looked at her. " Interested in defeating my naive sister?". Lamia grinned. " I sure am". She took a pillow and run towards Artemis.

In no time, feathers were flying everywhere. Battle cries were heard. And some swearing, when someone got hit really hard. Or slipped, which happened to Artemis when she tried to escape Lamia, who was running after her, screaming. With the pillow above her head, she ran towards Artemis, getting ready to hit her merciless. Artemis seemed defeated, but this time Lamia slipped.

The next moment, she attacked Artemis and stole her pillow, running away with it. Only to be tackled by Athena, who had been awaiting her. Athena had just time to let out a cry of victory before Lamia jumped on her and tried to retrieve her pillow.

" Give me! It's mine!". " NO! I took it from you. Finders keepers!". "You didn't find it! You stole it! Gimme!". " NO!". "YES"!. The two were rolling over the floor, wrestling, trying everything to get the other to lose their grip on the pillow. Neither was going to give up any time soon though. Both of them were intelligent, serious women. Both didn't enjoy mindless games. Both were centuries old. And yet, they were rolling over the floor, holding a resemblance with toddlers instead of two centuries old, wise women.

It took her some time, but Athena remembered who she was. And decided just wrestling wasn't going to help her. So she thought about it and did the logical thing. She tried tickling.

In no time, Lamia lay on her back, tears streaming down her face. " N-no! S-stop! P-p-please!" she cried. Athena was on top of her, tickling her and smirking. She looked rather evil. " Hah! I have found your foible! The pillow is mine!" she shouted.

Lamia shook her head, still laughing. She tried to escape, but Athena grabbed her again. " N-no! I-it's m-mine!" she said. Athena smirked and kept tickling. " I won't stop until you say it's mine!". " N-never!". " Say it!". "N-nooooo"!. " Say it!". " A-allright. I-I c-can't take it anymore. Y-you w-win".

Athena smirked. " Say it!". " The pillow is yours"! Lamia screamed, unable to keep up with the torture any longer.

Athena, with a triumphant look on her face, climbed of Lamia. She sat down, breathless and still laughing softly. " That was fun!" she said, her eyes shining. Her hair was messed up, her clothes rumbled and she looked more like a mischievous child than the wisdom goddess, but her eyes were sparkling.

Lamia only nodded, trying to catch her breath. She punched Athena. " Cheater!" she managed. Athena shook her head. " I am not a cheater. What I did, was fair".

Lamia shook her head. " No way! You used torture to retrieve your _stolen _pillow". Athena shook her head. " What I did was equitable. I  
t was only tickling. You weren't harmed, not physically or mentally and-". " Where is the pillow?" Lamia interrupted her, looking around her.

Athena frowned. " It should be right there and- It isn't. Why...?". Athena and Lamia understood at the same moment, their eyes widening. They looked at each other. " Artemis!".

At the exact moment they said it, they were both hit with about twenty pillows. More kept coming, burying them in a gargantuan pillow mountain.

Lamia fought to get out of it, needing the air. And revenge. Artemis would pay for this. She could hear her laugh, enjoying what she no doubt believed was victory. _This isn't over yet. I am going to make her pay for this _she thought, smiling.

The next moment, she was pulled out of the pillow mountain. She saw Athena laying on the floor, breathless and laughing softly. And no doubt planning her revenge. Artemis was smiling, her eyes sparkling.

And then Lamia looked up and saw the face of the last person she wanted to see. Zeus. He was holding her close to his body, their hips touching. He raised his hand, stroking her cheek. And smiled. " Lamia. How glad I am to see you again" he whispered.

**Yeah. This wasn't really like Athena or Artemis, who both seem very serious, but I felt like it. So... JUST ACCEPT IT WILL YOU? Nah. I'm kidding. You can think whatever you want. I personally liked the pillow fight:)**


	14. Old excuses

**I don't own the Wardstone Chronicles. Or Percy Jackson & the Olympians. If I did, why would I be writing this at this time instead of writing new awesome stories? I do hope you will enjoy my story:)...**

Lamia was shocked, confused, nervous and angry. Shocked because she couldn't believe she was so close to the man who had destroyed her. Who had used and abused her. Who had ruined her entire life just by not being there for her.

Confused, even if she was ashamed to admit it, to find she still felt a bit attracted to him. But she understood that wasn't her fault. He was a handsome man after all. He just had something very attractive. He also looked slightly different. Not just his clothes, which were very different from what he had worn all those years ago.

Although Lamia had to admit she had never paid a lot of attention to _what _he had been wearing. She had been too busy to contemplate on how to get it of him. He had spent a lot of time naked around her. Sometimes he had been even naked when they weren't doing anything that required to be naked. She had always enjoyed that about him; his confidence and comfort. He had no trouble at all with people seeing him naked.

_Probably because so many women have seen him naked. I have the idea he has slept with a lot more women than I have killed people. In his own way, he is a monster, like I was. _Lamia thought. And that was how she thought about him now. Her body might still feel attracted to him, but her mind was in control. And she was disgusted when she thought of what this man had done. Or what he had caused.

_He hasn't just ruined my life. I don't even dare to think about all the others he has ruined. Directly and indirectly. For some low amusement _Lamia thought.

She was really annoyed when she saw him smile. Smile like he had never betrayed her. Like he had never abandoned and hurt her.

And she felt almost more hate than contempt when she saw the glance in his eyes. Lust. Like she had already seen at the meeting, he wanted her. She had no trouble at all reading the emotion in his eyes. It was the same emotion that had caused her so much trouble so many years ago. And no doubt, it had caused a lot of other women trouble too.

Including his wife. Hera might be a bitch, well actually more be the queen of bitches, but even she didn't deserve her husband. Lamia didn't exactly pity Hera, she was still too mad for that. She hated Hera for taking revenge on her children. That had been uncalled for. She could have destroyed Lamia instead. She was the one who had spread her legs and allowed Zeus to play with her afterall. Her childreen might have been the consequences of Lamia's ruthless actions, but they were innocent. It wasn't their fault their mother had fallen in love with the wrong guy.

Still, Lamia could understand part of Hera's anger. She had been furious when she discovered she wasn't the only one too. She had been upset, hurt and angry. And she hadn't understand it. She still didn't. She couldn't understand how someone would do something like that. It was cruel, to make people fall in love with you and just abandon them when you had enough of them.

And for Hera, it must be even worse. Zeus had forced her to marry him and kept cheating on him. Although, Lamia had to admit, she still couldn't feel any pity for Hera. _Zeus might be a horrible husband and overall an awful person, but Hera isn't exactly good either. She is a bitch and doesn't hesitate to use people. And hurt them in the process. _

Lamia looked at Zeus again, who was still smiling and looking at her. He was so close she could feel his warm breath on her lips, making them tingle distantly. She was pissed beyond belief when she noticed that. Even after all he had done, he still held some power over her body.

" Lamia" he breathed, his hand going down towards her butt. Lamia raised her eyebrows. "Zeus. How unfortunate I am forced by certain circumstances to meet you again" she said.

Zeus looked confused for a moment. He obviously couldn't believe she actually didn't want him. Not anymore at least. " But-" he started. And that was about as far as he came, before Lamia hit him as hard as she could in his face, making him scream.

He released her and stammered backwards, his blue eyes full of pain and disbelief. He stared at her like she was crazy. Which she wasn't. Not anymore at least.

She smiled at him, enjoying her little revenge. Now, after all those years, he felt pain too. It was nothing compared to hers, but it was a start. The humiliation was already torture to him, for he was very pride. Or arrogant actually. This would hurt his pride badly, considering he never had anticipated she would refuse him. And he was stunned she had actually dared to hit him.

Lamia apperceived he had never been refused before , let alone been hit. She took a step forward, still smiling, and looked down at him.

She looked at him , her eyes going up and down, and he slowly started smiling. No doubt he speculated she would forgive him everything. That she would believe him again and do it his way. That she felt attracted to him and would do whatever he wished.

Her eyes rested and his crotch for a moment before she looked into his eyes. " You're smaller than I remembered. But your memories makes everything better than it actually is, don't they? Oh and that was for our children, you ignorant idiot! Maybe the next time one of your women calls for help, you will actually try to help them".

Zeus seemed speechless when he heard his words. He didn't say anything, just kept staring at her. Like she had suddenly changed into something rather unexpected. Like a woman who said no.

Lamia saw Artemis and Athena smiling from her eyecorners. Artemis even gave her a quick thumbs-up. She still looked stern, but was smiling faintly too. Athena was smiling too, a little knowing smile. They both made it clear they appreciated Lamia's efforts and Lamia let out a small sigh of relief. She had been afraid they would be mad.

After all, the man she had just hit was their father. Their loyalty lay with him first. He shared their blood, cared for them. They had known him for centuries, while they had only really know her for a day. And what they knew about her, wasn't something you would want in a friend.

Lamia had expected them to help Zeus. He was their father, but he had also always been there. And sure, he had a lot of mistakes, but Lamia had no doubts they loved him nonetheless.

She sighed again. She wished she had that. Her children loved her, but they didn't really know who she was. They thought she was an ordinary woman, a human. Even their father hadn't known her dark secrets. He hadn't even known her identity. John had given her so much. He had given her love, safety, happiness, a home and rest in her mind and heart and she had given him lies and secrets in return.

That was why she liked Tom so much; there were no lies and secrets with him. Not anymore. He knew who she was and what she had done. He knew her crimes and still, he loved her.

That had always been one of the main reasons for not telling John. Lamia had been really afraid he would stop loving her. That he would believe she still was that monster. That he would be disgusted and leave her. Her life with John had been to valuable to throw away like that.

So she had kept her mouth shut, had enjoyed the happy, calm years before it began. Before she had to use her powers again and start with her battle against the dark she once was part of.

Lamia was lost in thoughts and memories, completely forgetting where exactly she was. And with who. And that was probably the reason she almost screamed when someone suddenly grabbed her.

" Wha-? Let me go!" she hissed, angry. Zeus chuckled. " No. At least not before you have apologized and explained. Why on earth would you hit me?". Lamia rolled her eyes. " Seriously? And I thought I was the crazy one. I have hit you, because you killed our children! Because you abandoned me and let them die. Because you used me as a toy and just threw me away when you lost interest".

Lamia could feel Zeus tense. She obviously had insulted him. " It wasn't like that! I love you and our children. You know how happy I was when you told me the news!".

Lamia snorted. " Maybe you just know very well how to act and lie. You have had centuries to practise after all".She didn't think about what she said. She was just too mad for that. After centuries, she could finally let him pay. And ask him what she had asked herself the past centuries. Why? " I wasn't lying Lamia! I meant what I said! I loved you and I loved our children!" Zeus said, anger evident in his voice.

" I dont believe you! You're a liar. You have used, abused me!" Lamia hissed, still angry after all this time. She had never stopped feeling angry and sad. It just didn't went away, the wound was too deep.

Zeus' grip tightened. Lamia was pretty sure his face would be all red and his blue eyes had darkened. She knew exactly how he looked when he was angry. She heard thunder starting, probable because of his anger. He was the king of gods and his speciality was thunder, after all.

" I didn't abuse or use you! I meant everything I said. My feelings were genuine and-". " You're so-called _feelings _were lust you jerk! All you ever felt for me was lust! ALL YOU EVER WANTED WAS SEX!" she yelled, not able to contain herself any longer.

She yanked free and turned, facing him. He looked exactly like she had expected; red face, clenched fists, tense body and darkened eyes. Lightning was around them by now, illuminating both of them. " I WASN'T! STOP INSULTING ME LAMIA" he screamed.

Lamia felt her entire body tense, her blood boiling. For the first time since she had met John, she felt the desire to kill someone. Or even better , hurt him so badly he would never recover. Let him suffer just like she had. He deserved it. " OR WHAT? YOU'RE GOING TO RUIN MY LIFE? NOW GUESS WHAT! YOU ALREADY DID!".

That was the moment he striked, apparently fed up with trying to defend himself. He made a gesture with his hand and a lightning bolt appeared in his hands.

Lamia almost took a step back, knowing all too well what he could do with that lightning bolt. She readied herself, prepared for whatever was about to come.

Before either of them could move however, Athena and Artemis ran forward. Lamia had forget they were present. They had been silent all the time, just watching. But now they apparently had enough of it.

Athena turned towards her father, while Artemis protected Lamia with her body. She held one hand on her bow, prepared to strike. Lamia was touched they were so supportive. Artemis even looked willing to strike against her own father.

She turned towards Lamia and smiled. " Calm down. The will stop him. He won't hurt you" she whispered. Lamia smiled back. " Thank you. I'm so glad you want to help".

Artemis shrugged. " That is where friends are for , right?". Lamia nodded. She looked at Athena, who was talking to Zeus. She moved her hands like she was agitated and seemed to be talking very fast. Lamia couldn't hear all she said, since it was still thundering, but it seemed to help. Zeus calmed down, the thunder ending.

In a few minutes, the sky was clear again. It was like nothing had happened. Except it had.

Zeus walked towards Lamia. Lamia immediately tensed, but Artemis was still in front of her and gave him a stern look. Zeus sighed. " Artemis, go astray will you? I have to talk to her".

Artemis looked at Lamia. Lamia understood , if she didn't want to talk, she wouldn't have to. Artemis would defend her. But it wasn't necessary.

Lamia smiled. " It's all right Artemis. Just let me". Artemis nodded and went to stand next to Athena.

Zeus, again very close, smiled. " Can't we talk about this Lamia? I wouldn't want to hurt such a beautful woman like yourself" he said. Lamia rolled her eyes. " You already did. And we can talk, but only when that talk involves you apologize. And promises to leave me alone after that talk".


	15. Can't we forget?

**Sadly, I don't own the Wardstone chronicles. Or Percy Jackson & the Olympians. I'm neither Joseph Delaney or Rick Riordan, so I don't own them... Well, hope you enjoy this anyway!**

Zeus looked at Lamia, his expression a mix of hurt, suprise, confusion and disbelief. Lamia didn't believe he was really hurt, he never had been before. Maybe it was more that his pride was hurt, since he couldn't bare the sole thought of refusial.

He was used to the fact that every woman found him irresistable. That every woman bend to his will, and other things. He was the kind of gods and expected everyone to obey him. Including his lovers.

Lamia had no doubts about his intentions. She knew he wanted her. Even now, she could see the look of lust in his eyes. Beneath all the other emotions, the overruling emotion was lust. It had always been. Maybe he had felt something besides lust, but the reason for betraying his wife, for being with Lamia, had always been lust. He had wanted her. Wanted her so much he didn't care about the people who would get hurt, Hera, Lamia , their children. And of course, all the people Lamia had killed when the death of her children drove her crazy. It hadn't changed anything. Zeus had still done it.

He had known there would be some very serious consequences and he had still courted, or actually seduced her. He had still cheated, he had still betrayed Hera. He had known Hera would find out and be enraged. It had happened before and Hera always found out. You could say a lot about the queen of the gods, for example she was a cruel, manipulative, selfish bitch, but she wasn't stupid. Hera always found out and it were always the women who got punished, never Zeus. Zeus always got away with it.

Oh sure, Hera was always angry and screamed at him. She insulted him, did everything to make him feel miserable. But it was nothing compared to the punishment the women got. And often, they were innocent. Some didn't know their lover was Zeus. Others didn't want to become Zeus' lover, but Zeus didn't take no for an answer. And some, like Lamia, fell in love with him before they found out the truth. And when they knew the truth, they loved him to much to sent him away. And even if they did find the courage or strength to sent him away, he would come back. He always wanted to be the one to end it, didn't take no for an answer.

Whatever she had tried, Lamia had lost in the end. She had lost her body in the beginning, which wanted him from the moment they met. She had lost her heart secondly, after the third time if she recalled correctly. And she had lost her mind when she had lost him and their children. She had lost, together with her mind, her lover, her friend and their children. And she wasn't the only woman who had experienced something like this.

Zeus had made more victims. Like Io, who had been changed into a cow by Hera and was attacked by flies, also sent by Hera. Like Semele, who had been burned when Hera trciked her into asking Zeus to show her his true form. Like Leto, who had been pregnant and searching for refuge so she could gave birth. But Hera had made sure she wouldn't find a place where she could quietly gave birth to her children. And Leto had been Zeus' lover before Hera's marriage. Hera had never had a solid reason to hate Leto. She had just been jealous.

And that was the reason Lamia hated Hera. Not just because Hera had killed her children. No, because she hurt people without having a reason for it. Because she just her power to crush creatures that didn't have as much power as her. Because she was unfair, mean, cruel, selfless and arrogant.

Lamia almost understood why Zeus cheated so much. _Almost. _Because in her eyes, cheating was taboo. Nothing could make it right. Not even when your wife was the worst wife ever and no one deserved the harsh punishment of spending the eternity with her. There was also something like too harsh.

Lamia would rather get burned, poisined, stabbed and strangled than having to spend the internity with Hera. Still, there were other solutions. And cheating wasn't one of them. Zeus could probably not divorce Hera, since she was the goddess of marriage. But he had been stupid to choose her as wife in the first place. If he couldn't divorce her, they might still be another solution. And that solution wasn't cheating.

This all went through Lamia's mind when she looked at Zeus. At his eyes, who had always held the ability to make her feel dizzy and hypnotized. To make her forget everything, except Zeus.

At his expression, which asked her for forgiveness. Which suggested he wasn't a bad guy after all and they could have a fresh start. Lamia almost believed it, but she knew better. He _was _the bad guy.

At his lips, who gave a whole new meaning to the word temptation, and the smile tugging at the corners of those same lips. He was smiling that special smile. That sweet, sensitive and yet misschievious smile that had always made Lamia willing to do anything. It had been the ultimate weapon. Even now, Lamia felt tempted to give in. To just forget the past and start a new future. But she wasn't stupid.

She might be lonely, sad and tempted, but not stupid. Now John was gone, she somehow longed for something to fill the hole his death had left in her heart, but it wouldn't be Zeus. No matter how tempting he looked and how great he could be if he tried.

Lamia knew what would happen if she gave in and she hadn't forgiven him. Or forgotten what had happened the last time she had given in. She wouldn't make the same mistakes. She wouldn't believe anything between them could be something else than lust. She wouldn't trust him again.

So when Zeus came closer and made an attempt to kiss her, she pushed him away. " I'm serious! Whatever you and I had, it's over Zeus. I have had enough of it. I should have never started anything and it was the worst mistake of my life. And that means a lot, considering I have made some grave mistakes. Mistakes that keep me up at night. But you are the worst one and I don't want to feel like that ever again. So leave me alone Zeus. Whatever the reason is I am here, it certainly isn't to get a relationship with you".

Zeus' face immediately darkened at her words. He stopped smiling, all emotion gone from his face except maybe anger. He narrowed his eyes. " And why would you refuse anything? I know I made mistakes, but you did too. We all did".

Lamia took a deep breath, trying to keep herself from attacking him. From kicking and hitting him. From hurting him wherever she could. Preferably in the exact spot it would hurt the most. That way, he would be in a lot of pain _and _it would take some time before he would be able to approach some innocent woman again.

Lamia actually smiled a little when she thought about that. She would _love _his reaction if she did anything like that. It would only serve him right.

Zeus smiled, suddenly a lot calmer. " See, you are smiling again. I knew you would see my point, you have always been smart. I-". " Zeus, I wasn't smiling because I contemplated you were right. I don't think you could be more wrong actually. I would rather eat poisened fish than do anything with you. I would rather be burned. I would rather-".

Zeus cut her off. He looked angry again. And confused. He apparently still couldn't believe she didn't want him. " I get it. Why were you smiling?" he said, obviously trying to calm himself. The thunder was actually starting again and his eyes became another color, a sign he was angry.

Lamia figured he held himself back, because he didn't want to change to his true form or anything and accidently burn her. Lamia wasn't sure if she would be burned too, she wasn't human but she wasn't a god either, but she didn't want to take the risk. She felt no need whatsoever to be burned.

Lamia smiled again when she thought about his question and especially about the answer. " I was thinking about what _I _want to do with you, now I see you again".

Zeus smiled again, the lust returning. He sent her a burning look, like he wanted to eat her. Like she was his favorite dish. He came a little closer, wearing his special smile again. That smile that was almost irresistable. " Really? And what exactly do you want to do?" he said. He obviously thought she wanted to do something _entirely _different than she had in mind. For some reason, Lamia didn't think he was thinking about her kicking him on a very painful place.

She saw Athena and Artemis studying them from the corners of her eyes and smiled. She suddenly felt very misschievious and felt tempted to try something. Who know? It could be fun.

She flung her hair, smiling at Zeus. It wasn't really like her, but she could try it. It certainly would have some effect on him. Something she really wanted to see.

She smiled seductively and took a step forward. She saw Athena and Artemis looked shocked and maybe a little angry. They probably felt betrayed, thought she really wanted their father and had lied to them. _They really don't know me if they think that. I would rather drown than even think about a relationship with him. _

Zeus was just as ignorant to Lamia's plan as Artemis and Athena. Well, Athena had her thinking face on, so she would probably soon figure out what was going on. She was too smart to not figure it out. There was a reason she was the wisdom goddess.

Zeus smiled, his eyes ranking over her body. He definitely liked what he saw, judging from the look in his eyes. " Tell me Lamia, what do you want to do with me?" he asked.

Lamia chuckled and took another step forward. She looked at him. At his dishelved hair, mesmerizing eyes, perfect nose, lucious lips, broad shoulders, small hips and strong, long legs. At the entire package, that had once given her so much please.

She put her lips close to his ear, almost touching it. Her warm, moist breath touched his ear and he shivered slightly. Lamia smiled. She loved the feeling of power this gave her. She licked her lips. " What I want..." she whispered, making him shiver slightly again.

He swallowed, and Lamia could feel his heart beating fast. Could smell his blood, ichor- the golden blood of the gods, flow through his veins. She knew why. Because she was so close. And he wanted her, wanted her more than ever. _Too bad I don't want him. For him, that is. i'm only glad I don't want him anymore. It would be very bad if I did. _

" What you want.." Zeus said. He started to sound a little breathless. His voice betrayed his hope and longing. Longing for her, for the pure bliss they had both felt when they had been together. As lovers. He wanted her, but he wouldn't get her.

Lamia smiled and bit very softly in his earlobe before she crushed his hopes. " What I want... is definetely not you" she said and pushed him away, smiling. Zeus stared at her, his face turning red. He was both embaressed and angry.

Lamia revelled in his misery and smiled at him. " Please Zeus, you aren't that stupid, are you? Did you really think I would still want you? After all you have done. It's over. If I feel anything for you, it's hate. So leave me alone".

That made Zeus really agry, angrier than Lamia had ever seen him. His eyes turned blue, so blue it was almost black. His body seemed to change, his features changing into something else. Something terrible. His lightning bolt appeared in his hand. Thunder started, lightning illuminating the air. He raised his hands, summoning thunder and... that was the moment Artemis burst out laughing.

Zeus immediately forgot what he had been doing and looked at her. He was more suprised than angry now and the thunder disappeared. He looked normal again, only a bit flustered. " Artemis! Why are you laughing? Don't you care your father is being insulted?".

Artemis, who managed to stop laughing, shook her head. Her face was red and she was shaking, still having trouble restraining her laughter. " No father, I do care. But b-be honest, you d-deserve it. After all you have done to her, you can't expect her to be g-glad to see you. And your expression was just priceless!".

Zeus wanted to say something, but Artemis burst out laughing again. Lamia didn't think it was _that _funny, but she did like to see this side of Artemis. The playful side. Normally, she was stern and controlled. Now, she looked more like a child. Relaxed, peacefull and happy.

Zeus, getting desperate, turned to Athena. Athena had already seen something like this coming and was standing straight with a knowing smile on her face. " Athena.. Please say you at least feel sorry for me. Can you believe she did that?".

Athena nodded, not smiling but her eyes betrayed her amusement. " Of course I am capable of believing what she did father. I'm the goddess of wisdom after all. I have to admit, even I was fooled for a minute, but it soon became clear. Like my sister already adverted, did you really think she would be interested in the history repeating itself?".

Zeus, finally admitting defeat, sighed. " What is the world coming to when your own children won't help and feel sorry for you?". " A much better place?" Lamia suggested, a small, wicked smile on her face.

Zeus shot her a burning look, both angry and aroused. The way he looked at her told her he wouldn't just let this go. He wouldn't rest until he had her where he wanted her. Which would probably be his bed, with her legs spread wide. Which would _never _happen, if she had anything to say about it.

Zeus took a step toward her. He looked at her one more time. " This isn't over Lamia. Don't think you will get away with this. I will get what I want, one way or another". And with that, he walked away.

Lamia rolled her eyes. " Drama queen". She turned towards Artemis and Athena.

Artemis was still laughing hysterically, while Athena was smiling. " Well done Lamia. Although I didn't think you would be the kind of person to use that sort of behaviour to punsih him".

Lamia shrugged. " I decided that would work best on him". Athena chuckled. " And it did". They looked at each other for some time before losing it and joining Artemis in a hysterical laughing fit.


	16. Hysterics

**I don't own the Wardstone Chronicles. Or Percy Jackson & the Olympians. Now, are you happy? Well, if you aren't, I hope you will at least enjoy this. **

Lamia was clutching her stomach, laughing so hard it actually hurt her. Tears were streamed down her face, said face very red. Her legs felt like they were unable to support her weight. In other words; it was a classic example of a fit of giggles.

Even Artemis and Athena,who were normally stern and serious and not really the kind of person to join in this kind of behaviour, were laughing hysterically. " Wh-why a-are we- Oh gods. Why are we laughing" Lamia managed to ask.

Athena and Artemis looked at her, laughing even louder. " I-I do-on't know!" Artemis exclaimed, breathless. Her face was red too. Goddesses might be able to hold their breath longer than most creatures, but even Artemis was having trouble with the lack of oxygen. She looked like she was about to fall over. Which would only result in more laughing of course.

Neither of them was able to stop. Not even Athena, who normally rarely laughed. She smiled quite often, but you would almost never catch her laughing. She wasn't exactly the light-heartedly person. She was more the I-love-knowledge-and-hate-jokes person. It shouldn't be a suprise she didn't really like Apollo, Artemis' brother.

He was never really serious, always helping Hermes with pranks. He was like the class clown. And Athena found that really annoying. She didn't comprehend people like that, who didn't seem to take life serious. Gods might live forever, or at least really long, but that didn't mean they could just waste their lives by fooling around.

And yet, despite all her objections to things like this, Athena was laughing so hard tears were streaming down her face. Her face was all red and the only sound she made was laughter, instead of the lengthy explanations she normally held. " It i-isn't even... It is-sn't- I-I a-an-ticapate- It isn't even whimsical!" she managed to say between fits of laughter.

Artemis stopped laughing for one second to look at Athena with a unreadable expression. Then, she lost her composure and burst out laughing again. " Oh god, The! E-even n-ow, y-you- y-you. You still use words like whimsical!" she said.

Lamia laughed even harder. " W-would y-you have e-expected anything con-con-contrastive?". Artemis made a strangled noice, her lungs probably begging for air by now. " You are d-doing it t-too!".

Lamia remained silent. Well, actually she didn't , but she didn't talk. Simply because she couldn't. She was too busy laughing and gasping for air. She actually saw black spots and feared she might faint, which would be utterly embaressing.

Athena, managing to keep her laughter down just long enough to speak, nodded. " Y-yes! Lamia, you a-are cu-culpable o-of Oh me!". Athena fought to stop laughing, but it was a lost battle. She simply couldn't stop. She hadn't laughed in some time and it seemed all the oppressed laughter had to get out now.

She fell to the floor, laughing really hysterically by now. Lamia tried to say something, something that would prove her innocence, but all she could do was laugh.

Artemis couldn't keep herself from laughing either. Neither could Lamia. The three women were laughing hysterically, actually laughing so hard they were crying.

After at least ten minutes, their laughter died down a little, allowing the three to start breathing again.

Lamia lay on her back, panting and sweaty, looking at the ceiling. The ceiling had all sort of paintings on it, very beautiful ones. Mythological creatures, like unicorns and dragons. Constellations, like the scorpion and centaurus. Popular scenes of the bible. Monsters.

Lamia smiled bitterly when she saw a painting of herself, her hands raised to sky like she was praying, her expression one of utter horror, hate and anger. But also sadness. Her eyes were filled with it, tears falling down her cheeks. Those same eyes were focused on the lifeless bodies of two children before her. It was a very good image, almost exactly like Lamia remembered it. Whoever the artist was, he or she was very talented if she could describe a scene so vived.

Lamia looked at the painting next to it. Lamia didn't know anything comics, not even they existed, but that was what it was like; a comic. All the tragic events in her life, reduced to paintings on a ceiling. She saw herself when she still was queen, talking to her advisors. She saw herself practicing her magic, her expression concentrated and full of naive wonder. She saw herself grow from child to the woman she had become. She saw the meeting with Zeus and the mix of fear and longing on her face. She saw his face, full of lust. He was the predator; she was the prey.

She was suprised to actually see the painting next to it; the two of them together, in bed. The bedsheets covered everything except their bare shoulders. They were cuddling, she was wearing a worshipping and intensely satisfied expression. He, looked equally satisfied and triumphal. But there was also a spark of tenderness. It looked almost like he was already starting to fall in love with her. Except, he never had. Not truly.

Lamia moved on to the next one, eager to get away from the vivid painting that triggered her memories. She cursed her stupidity. She had ended with in his bed barely an hour after they met. She had behaved like a complete fool.

The next one was one that made her throat go dry, her heart stop and her eyes moisten slightly. It showed her, one hand on her still flat stomach, and Zeus, looking suprised and slighlty worried. But unmistakenly incredibly happy too.

He looked at her with so much love and tenderness, like she was a gift. A gift from something even mightier than the gods. A gift he had never hoped to receive. " Why did you do it while you looked at me like that...?" she whispered.

Athena and Artemis, who hadn't noticed what she was looking at up until now, looked at her. Lamia heard Athena sigh. " My apologies Lamia. I hadn't anticipated you would get a chance to notice them".

Lamia looked at her. Athena's grey eyes were somehow softer than normal. Normally, they were stern and reminded her of steel. No mercy, no forgiveness, no nonsense they seem to say. But now, they were softer. Lamia realized how lucky she was. They had only spend a few hours in each other's company and she already felt like Athena and Artemis were her friends. Somehow, they had managed to get allong quite well.

" It isn't of any significance Athena. Even you couldn't have anticipated this situation". Artemis pulled herself up, her silvery eyes also showing concern. " Are you sure? It isn't painful or anything to look at them?".

Lamia shrugged. " Of course it is. I still feel horrible about what has happened. What I have done and what I allowed to be done. But I changed myself and my life. I have wonderful children and my husband loved me".

" Really? You actually managed to find a decent man instead of a worthless pig, like men normally are?" Artemis said, her voice somehow cold again. Athena punched her. " Artemis! It is incredibly rude to imply her husband was, like you put it, a pig. I am convinced she loved him and , although I personally believe love gets in the way, they were very happy together. To say something like that is utterly obtuse". " He! I'm not obtuse! Take that back!".

" I do _not _take things back. Why would I? And you are!". " Am not!". " Yes, you are. Do I have to verify why you are, in fact, obtuse?". " Pff. You can't verify something I am not". " You are obtuse!". " Am not! " _I _am not. Stop saying am not, it actually hurts my ears". " You are such an annoying person The. Why would you even care if I say am not instead of _I _am not? It's trivial".

" It isn't! It is my job, my duty , to assure people form correct sentences and-". " Booooring!" Artemis said, before throwing a pillow at Athena. Which wasn't smart. There still was a giant pile of pillows to use as munition. Who know what Athena could do with that.

Athena glanced at the pile, no doubts forming a plan how to take her revenge. Maybe by suffocating her with a pillow. Before the two toddle- I mean goddesses could procced to attack, Lamia stopped them. She couldn't let them hurt each other.

It amazed her how they could act so different in each other's company. It was quite unexpected. " Calm down, the two of you. We have already had a pillow fight. No need for another one. Artemis , you aren't obtuse. You just did something that might be slightly obtuse. And Athena, it might be your job to correct people and assure they use correct grammar and all, but please just relax this time. I will probably go back to my universe soon and I might never see you again. I actually despise the idea. But we can have some fun, right?".

Athena smiled. " Of course we can Lamia. To be honest, I already have a prodigious idea! I could share my knowledge of the inventions of past centuries with you and- Artemis!". Artemis , holding a pillow in her hand, smiled. " Remember what I told you? Nothing like that tonight. We are going to have some actual fun instead of listening to your lectures. They might be interesting, but we have better things to do".

" Better things? What is better than gaining knowledge" Athena protested. Artemis smiled. " Well, we already had a pillow fight, but there are more things I believe you do at a sleepover".

Athena sighed. " And what is where you are thinking about?". Lamia looked at Artemis. She was curious. What would the goddess say? Artemis smiled misschieviously. " Truth or dare of course. Or are you too chicked to try it Athena?".

Athena raised her eyebrows slightly. " Of course not. And that is a ridiculous statement, because - " Athena will go first!" Lamia said, cutting of another Athena's lectures. She didn't really want to listen to that right now. Maybe later.

Athena look really annoyed, but she didn't say anything. She only muttered something. Something involving lectures, fascinating and no respect.

Lamia smiled. She liked gaining knowledge, but she wanted to play this game. It interested her. Besides, she didn't recall the last time she had been playful and just enjoyed herself.

A few minutes later, the three women sat in a circle. They looked at each other for a moment before Artemis took the lead. " Okay, this is how it works. You can choose when it's your turn; truth or dare. Dare means you will have to perform a task. And truth means you have to answer a question truthfully".

" That is obvious" Athena commented. Artemis rolled her eyes. " Let's just start and get this over with all right?".

Lamia nodded. " But who goes first?". The three looked at each other. They didn't know the answer to that. Artemis looked at Lamia, smiling. They said it at the both time. " Athena!".

Athena sighed. " Very well. I will be the first one to engage in this ridicule game". Artemis smiled. " Truth or Dare The?". Athena shrugged. " Truth I guess". Lamia smirked. " Great. Athena, are you-". " ever going to admit your secret crush is Poseidon" a voice finished the sentence.


End file.
